Police Commissioner Richard Chambers emphasises leader visibility and frontline connection amid challenges. Photo / NZ Police.
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers emphasises leader visibility and frontline connection amid challenges. Photo / NZ Police.
Policing is not getting easier. From homicides to the daily toll of frontline work, officers are facing traumatic and volatile situations.
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers says that is the reality that not only demands better tools like body-worn cameras, but also more focus on staff wellbeing.
Chambers attended the PacificIslands Chiefs of Police (PICP) annual conference in Waitangi last Wednesday.
The conference featured Chiefs of Police or their delegates from PICP’s 22 member countries that include Australia, the Cook Islands, Guam and Fiji.
Chambers’ visit as part of the event came after a flurry of headlines highlighting concerns within Northland police.
Northland district commander Superintendent Matt Srhoj said nine homicides in the first half of the year had put a squeeze on resources. He disputed the Far North’s officer’s claim about culture, believing it has never been better.
Chambers told the Northland Age from the conference that he was well aware of the challenges Northland police faced.
“The things that staff are exposed to up here in Northland - and I think about the homicides in particular around the Mid Far North - is really hard.”
Chambers acknowledged Northlanders’ concerns about a lack of police presence. He said he had clearly expressed expectations to police leaders that they are accountable but also need to be visible and connected to the frontline.
“Because if we as leaders are not amongst our frontline staff understanding their world, how can we possibly make a difference for them?”
Chambers said police were working “really hard” to fill vacancies in Northland. He reported the number of Northland police vacancies had halved in the past few months.
“Right now, there are seven Northlanders going through their recruit training at the Auckland Albany police campus, and we have a whole bunch more down at our Porirua campus in Wellington.”
Chambers said they will soon graduate before starting work in Northland.
He explained that while boosting the number of police was important, an equal priority was to ensure they were the right officers.
“My team is working really, really hard to ensure that we recruit quality police officers for our country and that doesn’t happen overnight ... ”
Chambers said some officers were choosing to move on from policing but that was “not a new problem”.
“We’ve always had people leave our organisation and make their own choices. I can reassure Northland that we’re working incredibly hard, and there are remarkable policemen and women up here in Northland.”
Chambers said policing was not getting any easier.
" ... It’s becoming more volatile.”
He said he’d had conversations around staff wellbeing and safety measures, such as body worn cameras.
“Sometimes people forget we’re human beings. We’re mums and dads too, and sons and daughters, and it’s sometimes hard. We are exposed to the worst of the worst, so I’ve got a particular focus on that.”
Chambers said it was no surprise that transnational organised crime was the primary issue tabled at the conference given criminal networks target the lucrative markets that exist in New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific.
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers attended the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police annual conference in Waitangi.
Chambers said police were working incredibly hard at a local and national level to address the challenges of methamphetamine use, such as addiction and holding those responsible to account.
He explained that police and those in the health space needed to work together to make a difference.
“We all want the same thing, and that’s to ensure the harm is reduced.”
