Northland police's response to Covid breaches adhered to a nationwide approach announced by police commissioner Andrew Coster on Tuesday.
Coster said police were focused on engaging, encouraging, and educating people during level 4 restrictions.
"However, police expect people are by now well aware of what is expected of them and they are asked to follow the rules. People can expect the alert level restrictions to be enforced."
Repercussions include prosecution, written and verbal warnings, or referrals to Youth Aid.
Covid breaches include people travelling for non-essential reasons, people aged over 12 failing to wear masks on public transport and at essential services; and social gatherings - such as parties, funerals and tangihanga, and weddings.
Northland police reported few issues on Wednesday, but they were called to Whangārei Pak'nSave after a man allegedly refused to wear a mask in the store and would not leave when asked.
Of last year's 234 breaches in level 4,181 were of the country's Health Act and 53 of the Civil Defence Emergency Act.
Police prosecuted 49 people – the most being from central Whangārei (24) followed by Kaitaia (9); 183 warnings were handed out, and seven people were referred to Youth Aid.
Police data showed people in central Whangārei received the most warnings, ahead of Kaikohe.
Most people who breached Covid restrictions were aged 30 to 40 years, closely followed by people in their 20s to 30s.
Overall, last year's level 4 was busy for Northland police, receiving 17,091 calls for service and preventative actions.
Just over half were based in Whangārei and Kaipara, and the remaining 47 per cent in the Far North.
Of these callouts, 998 were crime related – mostly linked to dishonesty. Police responded to 213 attempted break-ins in the region, with central Whangārei and Kaikohe the hardest hit.
About 7828 were for non-crime police services. These involved – and were not limited to - family harm investigations, mental health callouts, people acting suspiciously, traffic incidents, vehicle collisions, and bail checks.
The remaining demand on police services during last year's level 4 lockdown were specific responses to the pandemic – such as patrols, checkpoints, reassurance measures, and checks on people.
These measures were reignited by police as Northland moved into alert level 4 on Tuesday.
Northland police are carrying out "reassurance patrols" at supermarkets around the region to assist with managing crowds.
Officers had increased their presence at key areas on Northland's roads – including the Brynderwyns and around holiday hotspots – to monitor traffic movement.
Police reported a number of Northlanders had, and continued, to make their way home in the first 48 hours of the alert level change as allowed by government guidelines.
Coster said there was no need for unauthorised community checkpoints on the country's roads because police were ensuring those travelling were doing so for essential purposes only.
In Northland, police had no plans to establish official border control checkpoints because of the blanket ban on travel.
A police spokeswoman said they were in contact with the Tai Tokerau Border Control, who had not established border checkpoints.
However, police continue to run their standard police road checkpoints and as part of that are asking motorists their reasons for travel.
All Northland police stations are closed except for the Whangārei station on Walton St, which is open from 8am to 5pm for emergencies only.
Covid breaches can be reported online via the New Zealand police website. The information provided will be available to New Zealand government agencies responsible for compliance of the country's Covid response.
