Southland
District Commander Superintendent Paul Basham has welcomed the 88 officers allocated to Southern District 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.
“The extra staff will allow us to introduce innovative new approaches to impact on crime, while also strengthening our existing Police networks across urban, regional and provincial locations,” says Superintendent Basham.
“This will be focused on creating an environment for all communities in Southern where people are not only safe, but feel safe.”
In addition to increasing frontline officers to prevent and respond to crime and calls for service, Southern will establish a new Precision Targeting Team that will focus on priority and prolific offenders to reduce crime such as burglary, robbery and alcohol related crime.
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.
“While our deployment of these officers will be prioritised on the current and future needs of our diverse communities, we will also be focused on building enhanced prevention initiatives, improving deployment capabilities and, ultimately, creating a more responsive community-focused Police service.”
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.