Support among police for carrying arms at highest level in decade, survey shows

Police Minister Poto Williams spoke to Mike Yardley about the question of further arming police and what it could mean for the relationship between police and the community. Video / Newstalk ZB

By RNZ

A biennial survey run by NielsenIQ of almost 6000 Police Association members shows 73 per cent support for general arming of the police constabulary, the highest level in a decade.

Support is even higher among frontline officers, with road policing at 79 per cent, general duties police at 77 per cent, and other uniformed operational roles at 74 per cent.

The survey found one in four general duties officers were threatened with a firearm last year, while one in eight officers overall were threatened with a gun.

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Police Association president Chris Cahill said the message from members is clear - they do not believe the current availability of firearms is sufficient for their safety.

Last week Police Commissioner Andrew Coster ruled out a move towards the general arming of police officers.

He was commenting after Eli Epiha who murdered police officer Matthew Hunt was found guilty of the attempted murder of the officer's partner, Constable David Goldfinch.

Coster said safety of the front line was top of mind for the police leadership who were looking at "whole system settings" to keep police as safe as possible.

"It's tempting to want to reach for a single solution that would be the magic wand.

"I'm pretty clear that general arming is not that magic wand.

"If we look internationally, there's no jurisdiction you would point to to go they're so much safer than us because they carry firearms."

In April, RNZ reported that dozens and sometimes hundreds of frontline police officers have been told to carry guns on average once a week in recent months, as fears around gun violence escalate.

Some of these temporary arming orders - where all frontline officers can be armed - can span entire districts and last for days, usually while police investigate a shooting or other violence.