Canterbury District Commander Superintendent John Price has welcomed the 121 officers allocated to Canterbury today by Police Commissioner Mike Bush.
The new staff were allocated as part of the 1800 additional Police funded through a $298.8 million increase in Budget 2018 that built on an increase from the previous year.
“We have a fantastic police team in Canterbury who make a real difference in the lives of our community every day and the addition of extra officers will ensure that we can impact on crime and other calls for service and prevent harm across Canterbury.
“We are excited about the positive impact the extra staff will have for the district, working to prevent crime and make the communities we serve safer,” says Superintendent Price
“Canterbury is a great place to live and the extra staff will ensure we can concentrate on key policing demands and ensure we continue to focus on preventing crime while our victims remain at the forefront of policing – and yet still hold criminals to account especially around organised crime.”
In addition to increasing frontline officers to prevent crime and respond to calls for service, Canterbury District will establish a new Precision Targeting Team that will focus on priority and prolific offenders to reduce crime such as burglary and robbery.
The allocation also includes the introduction of a Serious and Organised Crime Taskforce in order to combat and prevent gang-related crime such as methamphetamine supply, violence and intimidation, and other serious offending.
All 12 District Commanders will now be working with their leadership teams to determine deployment decision at an area and station level. These decisions will be communicated once confirmed.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre