Patrick Absolun keeps and eye on the speed of passersby with officer in charge of road policing Sergeant Colin Wright Photo/Stuart Munro
Patrick Absolun keeps and eye on the speed of passersby with officer in charge of road policing Sergeant Colin Wright Photo/Stuart Munro
The first national open day for the New Zealand Police was a success in Wanganui, Sergeant Colin Wright says.
"From the police point of view, it was nice to deal with people that weren't a victim or an offender or a witness. They were just there because they wanted totalk to us," said Mr Wright.
The Whanganui police display at Saturday's River Traders' Market gave the public a chance to talk to police, ask questions, and check out gear, including special beer goggles, and guns from the Armed Offenders Squad (AOS).
"People don't go to hospital because they want to. People don't come into the police station because they want to," he said.
People could ask police any burning questions they had without the pressure of going into the station to talk, and officers were able to explain the ins and outs of their equipment and jobs.
"It was very well received. We had a lot of good feedback from members of the public," he said.
Mr Wright said there were 12 staff at the display, from the Puriri Neighbourhood Policing Team, the road policing group, AOS, search and rescue, the dog squad, and Youth Aid.
"We just expected that we would be able to show ourselves to be open, and we just wanted to interact with the public, really."
