Ngā Mihi. This week there were great examples of staff going the extra mile to keep our communities safe and helping individuals in need.
Drug Busts from North to South
Our staff are cracking down hard on those that are manufacturing and selling meth and synthetic cannabis which is causing so much harm in some areas. This week alone we announced major busts in Christchurch, Palmerston North and several across Auckland . Well done to all those involved.
Bluelights to the Rescue
Police helped a surgeon to Starship Hospital to perform life-saving surgery on a young baby after she realised she wasn’t going to make it through the gridlocked traffic. Dr Elizabeth Rumball phoned Police and our communications centre call taker told her to come to Papakura Police Station where two of our officers, Constables Matt Malcolm and Rachel Morgan, blue-lighted her all the way to the hospital.
She later called to let us know the good news that the baby had survived the surgery. You can see more about this story on our Facebook .
When every minute counts
Some of our most difficult Police cases involve missing children. This week our staff worked to reunite two children with their relieved parents within hours of them being reported missing.
The first one was the kidnapping of an 11-day-old baby in Auckland. The baby was reported missing at approximately 7am on Wednesday morning and thanks to the excellent work of Police staff, she was reunited with her parents early that afternoon. This was extremely distressing for the parents and their loved ones and I’m very pleased with the positive outcome in this case.
Later on Wednesday afternoon in the Tasman District, Police received a call to report that a two-year-old girl had left her Motueka property with her four-month-old puppy.
Police quickly swung into action. Police staff, Search and Rescue volunteers and members of the community searched the area. The girl and her puppy were found safe and well and returned to her family after an extensive five hour search.
I would also like to thank the volunteers and members of the community for their assistance in returning this young girl home.
You can count on Comms
Whilst I’m acknowledging the great work undertaken by our front line staff in these examples, I’m also very mindful of the critical role undertaken by staff in the Communication Centres. We have a very focused team taking calls, getting vital information off callers (who are often extremely distressed), and dispatching and co-ordinating these events until command can be taken up by attending units. So - a special thanks to them too for their part in the successful outcomes of these cases.
As always, stay safe.
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