Work and Income building in Rototua on lockdown after threats made

Work and Income building on Pukuatua St. Photo / File

The Rotorua Work and Income building on Pukuatua St has been placed into lockdown today for the second time this week.

A police spokeswoman told the Rotorua Daily Post that police were notified about 12.55pm today that the building was placed into lockdown after verbal threats were made.

The first lockdown happened on Tuesday this week, when verbal threats were also made to staff.

"When security incidents occur at our MSD offices, we have a standard process we follow to protect staff, clients, our security guards and members of the public. We followed this process, temporarily went into lockdown while police resolved the matter, and were able to get back to normal quickly," Ministry of Social Development Bay of Plenty regional commissioner Mike Bryant told the Rotorua Daily Post on Tuesday.

"We do want to say sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused our clients in Rotorua today, and encourage anyone needing help to give us a call on 0800 559 009 or use their MyMSD app."