One percent of the police’s total workforce cover 50 percent of New Zealand’s geography. Emma Hatton reports on the challenges of rural policing and what’s being done about it
Of the 41 recommendations handed down by the Independent Police Conduct Authority last year when it reviewed rural policing, all have been completed or are underway.
A new Rural Policing Model was signed off by the executive earlier this year. READ MORE: * Tactical response model puts pressure on police staffing * Police responding to a family violence call every three minutes
And in the new year a Rural Inspector based at national headquarters will begin, a new role and major step in getting rural policing’s voice around the top table.
The Police Association says it’s all good stuff but President Chris Cahill adds there will always be new challenges to contend with.
“You've got challenges that were originally perhaps more city things like unemployment in rural communities you didn't used to have necessarily, you've got people that have moved away from big centres, because of the cost of living, but they don't necessarily have jobs. They might come with gang affiliations … so they've added some real stresses.
"You've got the scrutiny you're under, as a rural officer. So things like conflicts of interest can be become much wider issues, especially with the likes of social media.”
Then there’s the legacy challenges: physical remoteness, getting cover to go on leave, attracting people to the job, personal safety and ageing police stations and houses.
“One of the challenges is the housing … that’s absolutely shocking. When you're getting black mould in police houses it’s just not good enough,” Cahill says.
Another aspect is safety, with the Conduct Authority report identifying officers felt under the spotlight living in the police house, fearful people knew where they lived.
About $10 million has been spent on getting the 250-odd police houses up to the Government’s healthy homes standards, but Inspector Paul Carpenter admits there is still more to do.
“We've developed guidelines around the basic security for these houses, and what should be put in there. It's not going to happen overnight and I know there's frustration in that area. But we've just got to assure our staff that there is work being done in this area, and it is important.”
"For most of those communities the police officers are like a one-stop shop, they’re the only government agency present, they may even be the only emergency service present. So there's a lot of expectations placed on those officers." – Inspector Paul Carpenter.
The Rural Policing Model came off the back of a rural engagement project which had begun before the findings from the Authority came out.
Carpenter says it's not about overhauling the whole system.
“The rural model was not broken – this is an enhancement. We wanted to actually support and equip our police staff and these positions to be successful.”
One of the first things the model has done is try to ease the expectations of officers by encouraging rural communities to do things differently.
"Communities like to be able to walk up to the door of the police station, but it's just not the reality of being able to have a police station open all the time with the partners of those officers ending up being de facto police officers running the counter, it's just not practical.
“So part of [the model] is getting those rural communities to work more around the 105 number or online reporting and that can be really frustrating because one of the benefits of living in a small community is knowing your local cop,” says Cahill.
Carpenter says helping police families prepare for the gig is another aspect of the model.
“We've put together just probably a month ago now the rural police families induction booklet. So this is available to all of our staff, and it’s intended to provide families members with support, what they need to understand about the role and how to be safe and feel safe.
“And it's about their children as well how we can help them understand the role about their father or mother being police, being that police family and what that might mean … and the feedback so far has been great. Some of them have said if only that had been around several years ago, when we first moved in here.”
He says there are 104 one, two or three-person stations across the country, with 165 staff covering half of New Zealand’s geography.
For context, the 2022 police annual report recorded 14,600 staff.
“It's a massive undertaking and you can get an appreciation that there is a fair bit of remoteness and a fair bit of isolation when they're working in these places.
“So their communities are multiple, and they're not all wrapped around where their stations are based. They may have to travel quite some time to actually attend to victims or complaints or other events in their patch.
“And for most of those communities the police officers are like a one-stop shop, they’re the only government agency present, they may even be the only emergency service present. So there's a lot of expectations placed on those officers for a variety of requests.”
Rural officers now also get specific training, with those differences from the work their urban peers do finally recognised.
Despite the challenges, Carpenter says it’s not difficult to recruit people for the role, and the average length of service for rural officers is 16 years.
“These positions are appealing to the right people and getting the right people is sometimes a challenge but generally speaking, we have people interested in these locations.
“And also with the cost of living in some of the biggest centres, it is an opportunity to go to these not as expensive places."
For Cahill, the changes are a "good news story" but for frontline police it might take a little longer for the effects to be felt.
In last month's edition of the Police Association's member magazine an anonymous frontline officer lamented the treatment of rural postings.
"We are struggling to fill our rural stations. A lot are being staffed from the closest 'main' station, which is costing time, money and a loss of rural community engagement. Our rural cops living in their communities are gold, pure and solid, and any move by managers to 'streamline' rural policing is shortsighted.
"On top of that, it’s been reported to me that some of our police houses have black mould, making them uninhabitable. It’s 2022, for crying out loud! No police house should be in that condition. It’s irresponsible. How about hiring fewer consultants, pay to get those houses sorted and get rural cops back where they belong?"
