Eastern District Police are continuing efforts in the cyclone-hit region, including conducting 2,028 reassurance patrols to help keep people and property safe.
As of 2pm today, 19 February, there have been 6431 reports of uncontactable people registered and 3216 reports from people registering that they are okay.
People who have now been in touch with someone previously reported uncontactable are urged to update their status through 105 online, so we can prioritise those who need the most urgent checks.
As communications come back on, and Police’s dedicated teams work to reconcile various reports made, we can expect these numbers to fluctuate.
A total of 120 frontline staff have now come into Eastern District from other parts of the country, to support local staff in a range of frontline capacities.
This additional resource includes the Police Eagle helicopter which has been in the district since Friday.
In coming days Police will deploy another approximately 25 staff to the District, including iwi and community liaison officers to support reassurance and prevention work.
Since Tuesday 14 February, Police staff have conducted more than 2000 reassurance jobs across the District.
In Hawke’s Bay there have been 1345 reassurance jobs including road and foot patrols, road safety checks, and Police presence at essential facilities.
There have been 683 reassurance jobs conducted in Tairawhiti.
Police are also continuing to hold offenders to account. Since Tuesday Police have arrested 42 people for various offences in Hawke’s Bay and 17 in Tairawhiti.
Frustratingly, rumours and false information is being spread across our communities, and only serves to make vulnerable people feel even more unsafe.
As well, each false rumour that requires investigation is taking Police staff away from the important work they are doing.
Police are confident there is sufficient staff in Eastern District to manage both the emergency response and routine policing, and we continue to monitor what is required.
ENDS
Issued by the Police Media Centre
