Thousands respond to proposed Canterbury police restructure after U-turn made to accept public feedback

Police have received 1000 submissions on the controversial proposal to restructure rural Canterbury staffing, which includes cutting and redeploying roles around the district.

The proposal would reduce personnel at several rural stations, in favour of 24/7 hubs in Rolleston and Rangiora.

Sole charge stations in St Andrews, Arthur’s Pass, Pleasant Point, and Rakaia will be closed, along with two- and three-officer stations in Lincoln, Leeston, Amberley, Oxford, and Culverden.

Temuka and Waimate’s “public safety teams” would also be removed, and bolstered in Rolleston, Rangiora, Ashburton, Timaru and Christchurch alongside rural liaison officers who would be based in Lincoln, Leeston, Oxford, Amberley, Waimate, and Temuka.

Police also proposed culling family harm teams, drug and harm prevention officers, and school community officers across the Canterbury district.

In early August, hundreds attended a meeting in Culverden to express their disapproval of the proposal, the lack of public consultation, and fear that fewer local police would make them more vulnerable.

The consultation was initially open only to staff, a move that was described as a “departure from normal process”.

The community outcry resulted in police backtracking on their original stance and accepting public feedback from August 8, which led to the proposal receiving 800 public submissions and an additional 200 staff submissions.

A New Zealand Police Association spokeswoman said the feedback indicated strong public engagement with the proposal.

“The volume of submissions shows how concerned members of the public are, and how engaged staff are with the proposals,” the spokeswoman said.

Superintendent Tony Hill, the Canterbury police district commander, said police were now working their way through the feedback.

“We received around 200 staff submissions and 800 submissions from the public or external parties, including some petitions,” said Hill.

“This was a very important process for our staff, as the people directly impacted by these proposals.

“Staff sent in very well-considered, high-quality feedback.

“Members of the public have also sent in some outstandingly articulate and thoughtful feedback, which demonstrated people have taken the time to look over the proposals in detail.

“All this feedback has been invaluable and has reinforced for me that we need to take more time with some aspects of the proposal and to keep tracking with others.

“While we are keen to provide decisions as soon as possible, we also need to allow enough time to consider all the feedback thoroughly.

“Our team is now working through the feedback for us to consider before any final decisions are made.

“I hope to be in a position to provide an update on next steps and indicative timeframes in the coming weeks.”