BOP Police staff filling roles in Canterbury

The Bay of Plenty Police District continues to provide support to the Canterbury earthquake response in an operation which is likely to continue for some time.

The Bay of Plenty Police District Commander, Superintendent Glenn Dunbier, says members of Bay of Plenty Police have been on the ground in Canterbury since the first day of the earthquake.

"We currently have staff working in a number of different roles, including in the mortuary, family liaison, intelligence, Disaster Victim Identification, enquiry teams and general duties staff. Our general duties group departed Rotorua this morning," says Superintendent Dunbier.

"At this stage, the general duties group will be on an initial nine day roster, after which they will return to the Bay of Plenty and potentially be replaced by a second contingent."

Superintendent Dunbier says he is receiving some very moving reports from Bay of Plenty staff in Christchurch, all of whom have had different experiences to date.

"But the one thing that is consistent, is that they all feel privileged to be able to do their bit for the national effort. That is how we all feel too.

"As many in the community will be aware, this is a significant disaster event which requires an urgent response. It is unlikely that our contribution will be short-term, and we are planning for a long-term response.

"While our contribution is significant and important and we are exceptionally proud to be playing our role, our key priority remains to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all of our communities here in the Bay of Plenty.

"Our focus has been to ensure that the contribution is equal across all our four Police Areas – Eastern Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Taupo and Western Bay of Plenty. Where we have sent staff from those Areas and stations, we have worked very hard to ensure that each still has its full complement of staff, ready and able to respond to its local community. That focus will continue for as long as our staff are needed in Canterbury."