Armed police trial popular with officers, least of all the public

By RNZ

A trial by armed police found that front-line officers liked the idea, but some members of the public were less enthusiastic.

In June, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster announced that armed response teams would not be part of New Zealand’s policing model in the future.

Police have released the assessment in the trial that began in Manukau, Waikato and Canterbury counties in October last year and ended in April.

It shows that teams attended more than 8269 incidents in the three districts.

Almost a quarter (23 percent) were classified as emergency events, and the average emergency response time was eight minutes. Teams were busiest on weekends between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m.

More than half of those emergency incidents involved a firearm, although firearm crimes accounted for 2.6 percent of all incidents the teams attended.

The survey found wide regional variation in firearm crime: teams in Manukau counties were nearly twice as likely to attend firearms-related events as those in Canterbury, and six times more likely than teams from Waikato.

During the entire trial, no officer fired a weapon, although they drew their weapons five times. Officers were more likely to draw a Taser as a visual deterrent, although they were only fired twice.

It found that, on average, in 67% of cases, teams were dispatched to assist front-line officers, their expertise in special tactics was not required.

Instead, the teams provided support to their front-line colleagues.

The report found that front-line officers felt safer, incidents were dealt with more efficiently, felt supported, and received mentoring and guidance from team members.

In an effort to probe public opinion, the police commissioned a national survey on public understanding and support for the teams. It found that 72 percent supported the trial, although support was divided between those who strongly supported the initiative (38 percent) and those who simply supported the trial (34 percent). The report found that although the survey was nationally representative, it was small, with only 574 responses.

The report also noted that the lack of consultation, particularly with the Maori and Pasifika communities, caused problems.

“From the comments received, it is clear that many saw the lack of meaningful and early consultation with the public, iwi and community groups as a major problem, a threat to the legitimacy of the police and a potential cause of future community tensions,” the report says.

Some members of the public pointed to the threat of firearms as a questionable operational justification, while others pointed out that the communities that the police were protecting were not asked if they wanted armed police to patrol their streets.

– RNZ