Auckland CBD Police Station is long overdue, says Heart of the City boss Viv Beck

Central Auckland businesses say a 24/7 police station in the CBD is long overdue.

The government yesterday announced plans to move the current 24/7 College Hill station – about 2km from the city center – to a more central location on Federal Street, promising better service to the city. community.

Heart of the City managing director Viv Beck said he was “really delighted” with the announcement.

“This is a key part of the security solution we were looking for, and it’s great news.”

The move would mean the police force would be more visible and more accessible to residents than its current location in Freemans Bay, she said.

“It’s not very accessible for a resident who is trying to report a crime and has to walk to College Hill, and it will be a 24/7 window by the middle of year (where) people will be able to report a crime if they need to.

“We’re already seeing the difference with more police on the ground and this just adds an extra element of deterrence – they say it themselves it will improve the ability to respond to crime, so that’s good news at all levels.”

The city’s rail link – due to open in 2026 – would be important to the CBD, and the new police station would be right next door, she said.

“I’m actually setting up there, right next to what should be New Zealand’s busiest train station, (with) easy access in all directions from the city center to K Rd, downtown…location is good.

“Yes, it (the central police station) will take time, but we are happy to see it and it will make a difference.”

The addition of extra police officers to Auckland’s city center was “the big news”, she said.

“There is a very significant effort between central government, local government, people like us, the social sector, community patrols, Māori wardens. There’s a really strong, coordinated interagency effort to address a variety of issues.

“The first thing through all the work we’ve done, as things have deteriorated during this Covid period, is that people want to see police on the ground, and we’ve seen more of that, and It’s noticeable.”

Businesses and residents have “mourned the loss” of a train station in the city center, so it’s “very, very good to see this happening”, she said.

Asked if it would reduce the police presence elsewhere in the city, Beck said she understood recruitment was underway.

“I understand that this is going well, and I hope so, because unfortunately we need more police because unfortunately the problems are significant.”

Crime has been falling since last year and incremental improvements are important, not only in the CBD but in other areas, she said.

“We want the whole country to be safe.”

Being a patrol cop is ‘very rewarding’ – Police Commissioner

Meanwhile, police said a new 24/7 police station in the city center would help speed up the fight against crime in the area.

Newly appointed Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said Morning report that it was a “significant step forward” for the CBD.

The police station would be close to Queen Street, Karangahape Road, the ferry terminal and transport hubs, he said.

Morning report host Ingrid Hipkiss asked if the new beat police were simply being deployed from other Auckland police stations. Chambers said officers were already working on Federal Street.

“I’ve been a police officer in this city myself. It’s a very rewarding role, and the interactions my staff have with the community are all positive and it’s good for the police, it’s good for the city of Auckland.”

Hipkins challenged Chambers on the number of officers who would be present in the city centre, taking into account job cuts, unfilled vacancies and the redeployment of staff from other areas.

The police were aiming to reach 51 officers, which would allow them to provide a 24/7 service and a staffed office from the middle of next year, he responded.

Asked about the job cuts, he said police had thought “deeply” about what roles could be sacrificed, and the main consideration was the impact on frontline policing.

“We have been very careful and thoughtful to ensure that these decisions are sound, because communities expect us to be very good at frontline policing, and I would be concerned if we withdrew services from this regard.”

Chambers said he had not been informed of which services would be cut, but he understood that positions within the company would be among the 173 planned job cuts.

Hipkiss asked his response to the police officer filmed posing in a gang.

Chambers said he was “really disappointed,” but the officer apologized.

“From time to time we are going to make decisions that we would rather not make and I just want my staff to recognize those indiscretions when they do.

“We won’t always succeed, but we have to own it, learn from it and move on.”

Hipkiss asked Chambers if he thought the social media post would harm police-gang relations?

Police have put “an enormous amount of work” into preparing the gang law – understanding it, applying it and enforcing the law – but are seeing good compliance from gang members.

“It’s encouraging to see they are making good decisions – it’s not just about what we do as a police force.”

New station coincides with job cuts – Labor

Labor has welcomed the new central Auckland police station but said it was unfortunate it came on the same day as police job cuts.

The government described yesterday that the new station would have been funded through a reprioritization.

Labor Police spokeswoman Ginny Andersen said the creation of the position would allow the police to be more visible, but it came on the same day that 173 non-sworn positions were to be eliminated.

She said police were withdrawing from mental health interventions and the government was failing to tackle domestic violence.

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