Waipukurau police station closed for a month for building work

Due to construction the Waipukurau Police Station is closed to the public until Monday, February 17.

The Waipukurau Police Station is closed for major construction work.

When construction finishes at the end of February, the premises will be re-opened in its new configuration - a community hub encompassing police, Ministry of Social Development and Probation Services.

The co-location of the services is a New Zealand first, says Waipukurau Police Station officer in charge, Sergeant Mel Humphries.

"There are other towns where the services share the same site, but they are not under the same roof."

The building will have individual spaces for each service but also shared spaces such as meeting rooms.

"We are very mindful of still being an operational police station," says Humphries.

"We are conscious of the need to look after victims of crime, so we will have a separate entrance and private space for interviews and taking statements.

"There is a space for interview pods for MSD staff and clients, and we are discussing the configuration of the front office so that it is simple and clear where clients need to go."

Opening hours are also under negotiation, with Humphries keen to align police station hours with the MSD hours.

"This would mean our police station would be open longer than it is now, providing more service to the community."

While the station is closed until February 28, there will be a limited service available from the Mobile Policing Unit from February 17, set up in the parking area alongside the station.

In the meantime, for CHB's police officers it is business as usual, despite working around the construction.

"We have a very good project manager and team working on this build," says Humphries.

"The build is running to time and they have been very good to deal with."

In an emergency please call 111. For non-urgent matters contact police on 105.
Waipukurau police apologise for any inconvenience this closure will cause.