Family violence targeted as Hawke's Bay gets more police

Inspector Tania Kura is pleased Napier and Hastings will get eight more staff over the next year. Photo/File

Police family violence teams in Napier and Hastings will get eight new staff in the first stage of a four-year programme of boosting police numbers throughout New Zealand.

Details were released yesterday, two weeks after a Budget 2017 "Safer Communities Package" announcement that police staff will increase by 880 sworn officers and 245 non-sworn staff over the four years starting July 1.

Commissioner Mike Bush said yesterday about 220 "new additional recruits" will be added each year, with the Eastern District, which extends from East Cape to Norsewood and is one of 12 police districts throughout the country, getting 19 in the first 12 months.

Acting district commander Inspector Tania Kura said eight would be in the Hawke's Bay area, comprising four in the Family Intervention Team in Napier-Hastings, three in the Child Protection Team across the twin cities, and a District victims and family violence co-ordinator based in Hastings.

Tairawhiti, the district's northern sector including Wairoa and Gisborne, will get 11 extra positions, including four as part of restoring the Wairoa station as a "24/7 response base".

Kura said allocation took into account factors such as changing crime patterns and areas of "increasing demand" in the district - "particularly to address family harm".

"A priority of these 19 officers will be to target and catch offenders, prevent harm and victimisation and provide a more responsive police service to the community," she said. "The future of Wairoa is at the core of our ongoing discussions with staff and the local community to identify opportunities to ensure we allocate staff in ways which will have the most impact.

"Our work in partnership with iwi and social agencies will drive forward the strong collaboration necessary for improved whanau outcomes and enable our staff to build safe communities in Eastern District."

Late last year it was reported that Hawke's Bay had an average of 1371 domestic violence incidents annually over the previous five years, saying that at 88 per 10,000 people it was much greater than the national average of 58 per 10,000 people.