Please attribute to Police Commissioner Andrew Coster:
Police remain pleased with the public’s overall response to the Alert Level 4 restrictions.
The vast majority of New Zealanders are doing the right thing by diligently following the restrictions.
It’s important we keep this up and Police will continue to be out and about engaging with our communities, conducting reassurance patrols and, where necessary, taking enforcement action.
This is a challenging time for everyone and we are aware of the stress and uncertainty COVID-19 continues to cause.
We know this can have an impact on people’s well-being and mental health and that this can be an incredibly difficult time for whānau in our community.
Alert Level 4 restrictions bring new pressures to whānau and home environments and can increase the risk of violence from a partner or family member. It may also be harder for some people to contact Police, friends or other agencies as they may not have easy access to a phone.
Police are here to help. We continue to work closely with a range of partner agencies to ensure everyone gets the necessary support, no matter the alert level.
If you feel scared, threatened or unsafe please call us on 111. You can leave your bubble if you are worried about your safety.
We also encourage anyone who is concerned about the welfare of a neighbour, friend or a whānau member to contact Police. If you think something's not right, it probably isn't and by calling us you could be saving someone’s life.
Aviation Security Service (AVSEC) have offered staff to assist Police nationally with our reassurance patrols in the community, as they did during last year’s lockdown.
From today, AVSEC staff will be assisting Wellington Police with reassurance patrols.
AVSEC staff are a welcome addition to Wellington Police’s response to COVID-19. They will be supporting our reassurance efforts by visiting essential services like supermarkets and petrol stations, and conducting foot patrols across the city.
A large number of vehicles were turned around at checkpoints set up in Northland yesterday, which were a continuation of the ongoing enforcement activities that have been occurring over the past week, which have included roving patrols and temporary checkpoints at numerous locations around Northland District.
Police are committed to staffing checkpoints across the country to ensure people’s travel is for essential purposes only and we will continue our proactive approach to enforcement and to reassure Iwi and communities that they can have confidence in the work we are doing.
Police were made aware of a person who chose to commence a tramp through the Kahurangi National Park at the start of Alert Level 4 restrictions.
The person made contact with Police upon exiting the park and was instructed to return to their address in Wellington and was issued with a formal warning for failing to comply with a COVID-19 order.
Since Alert Level 4 came into place, 69 people have been charged with a total of 75 offences nationwide as at 5pm yesterday (25 August 2021). These arrests are primarily the result of protest activity in the first few days of Alert Level 4 and other intentional behaviour in breach of the restrictions.
Of the 75 charges filed, 47 are for Failing to Comply with Order (COVID-19), 16 for Failure to Comply with Direction/Prohibition/Restriction, 10 for Health Act Breaches, and two for Assaults/Threatens/Hinders/Obstructs Enforcement Officer.
In the same time period, 190 formal warnings were issued - 73 of the formal warnings were for Failing to Comply with Order (COVID-19), 67 for Failure to Comply with Direction/Prohibition/Restriction and 50 for Health Act Breaches.
Since 19 August 2021, Police have been issuing infringements for COVID-19 related breaches. As at 5pm on 25 August 2021, Police have issued 909 infringements nationwide.
• Person failed to remain at current home / residence – 827
• Person failed to wear a face covering on premises – 31
• Person failed to comply with applicable physical distancing rule – 30
• Obstruct/Hinder Medical Officer of Health or Person Assisting Med Officer/Failing to Comply with Order (COVID-19) – 10
• Person failed to wear a face covering on public transport – 2
• Person in control of premises failed to close as required – 2
• Person in control of workplace failed to display QR code – 5
• Person organised a gathering in an outdoor place - 2
Police have now received a total of 9259, 105-online breach notifications. 5608 were about a gathering, 2783 were about a business, and 868 were about a person.
In addition to the 105-online breach notifications, a total of 6108 Covid-19 related calls were made to the 105-phone line. The majority (4330) of calls were requests for information, and 1778 were to report perceived Covid-19 breaches.
We have all seen what happens overseas when people ignore the rules.
It’s imperative that everyone stays home, continues to wear a face mask or covering when you leave home and to scan in with the QR code when entering essential services.
Everyone knows what is expected of them, and it will take a collective effort to stop COVID-19 in its tracks.
Further information about travel at Alert Level 4 can be found at: www.covid19.govt.nz
ENDS
Issued by the Police Media Centre