Police to close 16 Auckland community stations to the public

Author: NZME staff,
Publish Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2016, 7:05pm

Names of 16 police stations and community police centres that could be closed to the public in Auckland have been leaked.

Changes are being made to front counters at 105 stations around the country, and public access will be restricted as an interim measure.

A spokesman said some districts have also taken the opportunity to look at community kiosks manned by volunteers, and some of these will be closed until an audit of front counter safety is done.

Acting Assistant Commissioner of district operations Bruce Bird said tonight that the exact locations will not be revealed for operational reasons.

“A review of existing infrastructure has highlighted a number of premises where more immediate practical steps are needed to increase security.”

He said some stations may limit public access to times when only sworn police staff were there, and other community kiosks — that are only manned by volunteers — will be closed while an audit is completed.

Mr Bird’s comments were at odds with information provided to the Herald by independent sources and also by Labour MP and Auckland Mayoral candidate, Phil Goff.

Mr Goff said police sources had also informed him that the closure decision has been made by the executive leadership board of the New Zealand Police based on the Front Counter Safety Project.

“Police tell me the real motivation behind this decision is to cut costs by recentralising police operations at the expense of community access to policing services.”

The 16 stations are: