24/7 police presence at every one of the quarantine and managed isolation facilities was announced by Air Commodore Webb and Cabinet Minister Megan Woods on Tuesday.

My first thought early this week was - really? Is this the best use of our police force? We have a defence force, we have aviation security, we have security companies on the job – surely we could beef up these numbers, before we take police off the street to stand guard at the front of a hotel.

I know, only police have the right to stop and restrain someone leaving quarantine and managed isolation facilities, people are staying in hotels not prisons after all. But the question is - is one police officer stationed at each of these large complexes going to make a big difference?  

I tended to agree with Police Association president Chris Cahill who criticised the Government’s decision to have a permanent police presence at all New Zealand quarantine facilities. It was a waste of police resources and not policing, Cahill said.

I couldn’t help but think it was a purely a move to reassure the public. An act to say, don’t worry – we don’t want to end up like Victoria either – we’re onto it.

I thought there must be other ways to show we mean business about quarantining rules? The more swiftly we charge the absconders and apply harsh punishment the better I say. That might knock some sense into Kiwi’s repatriating.

But as the daily news came through last week, I began to change my mind.

Yesterday we found out that another gentleman had absconded from quarantine in Auckland. This was after another idiot wandered off to grab some beers and a pinot on Thursday. Police were also required to arrested a man at an Auckland Covid-19 isolation hotel after allegedly becoming abusive at staff on Friday.  

Hotel staff don’t deserve to be abused, and reports of people in quarantine receiving flack from the general public isn’t on either. Maybe a police presence can keep everyone’s behaviour in check.

What we don’t want to do it turn this into an ‘us and them’ situation. Let’s remember that the majority of New Zealanders being repatriated are behaving themselves perfectly, and many of them are also dealing with difficult, stressful family situations.

And that I think the idea of making those in quarantine wear electronic bracelets – a suggestion that Health Minister Chris Hipkins is open to – is not cool. Maybe slap them on those caught trying to leave or who do successful abscond, but otherwise it just feels wrong.

But give me another week, and if it’s filled with stories about idiots jumping the fence, I will probably be volunteering to throw the bracelets on new arrivals myself.

Because in the end, I’m up for doing whatever is necessary to avoid community transmission, another lockdown, and more importantly, homeschooling. Quite how far I’ll be prepared to go will depend on the behaviour of all of those in lockdown.