infonews.co.nz
INDEX
POLICE

Roll out of Neighbourhood Policing Teams complete

Monday 29 October 2012, 7:59PM

By Anne Tolley

375 views

Police Minister Anne Tolley says the roll out of Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPTs) across New Zealand has been completed, as the Outer Kaiti NPT in Gisborne becomes fully operational.

This brings the total number of Neighbourhood Policing Teams to 33, with the first established two years ago in Counties-Manukau.

The NPTs work for up to five years in priority areas where members of the public are more likely to be victims of crime.

“Neighbourhood Policing Teams are proving to be a real success story in our major focus on crime prevention and frontline policing,” says Mrs Tolley.

“They provide an effective, accessible and visible police presence in communities, to prevent and reduce crime, re-victimisation and road crashes.

“The teams are targeting known offenders and making sure Police have the right resources in the right place at the right time to tackle crime or the threat of crime.

“Neighbourhood Policing Teams have made a great contribution to making our communities safer, with a 5.9 per cent cut in the crime rate in the last fiscal year, on top of a seven per cent drop in the previous year.

“A lot of hard work lies ahead, with our target of a 15 per cent overall reduction in crime by 2017, and I am confident our Neighbourhood Policing Teams will continue to deliver for the public.”