Police leaders from across the Pacific have been in Wellington this week to find out more about New Zealand Police’s prevention strategy – and plot their own prevention-centred approach.
Commissioners and other representatives from Tokelau, Tuvalu, Samoa, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Vanuatu, Palau, Solomon Islands and Tonga have been taking part in the Pacific Island Prevention Workshop at Police National Headquarters (PNHQ).
They attended four days of sessions on aspects of prevention work, hearing from speakers on workstreams and topics including crime science, Problem Oriented Policing, family harm, and mental health.
Today, the final day, they have the opportunity to shape their own prevention operating models, taking into account local drivers of demand, how to proactively deploy resources and how to communicate the importance of prevention to their staff.
Police’s National Prevention Centre and International Services Group (ISG) worked together to run the workshop, with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Australian Federal Police.
“New Zealand Police carries out a range of activities in the Pacific, managed by ISG,” says Superintendent Eric Tibbott, National Manager Prevention.
“This workshop builds on the progress we’ve made with our partners across the region with a focus on developing local prevention operating models.
“I’m excited to see what tangible plans emerge. They will bring wider gains for their police and the communities they serve. I’m pleased we can share our learnings, challenges and successes to enhance wellbeing across the Pacific.”
New Zealand Police recently refreshed the Prevention First national operating strategy and deployment model.
The Prevention First 2017 model provides a balanced approach that maintains a focus on resolving crime while emphasising the immediate and longer-term benefits of integrating prevention into all aspects of how we police.
It recognises six main drivers of demand - alcohol, youth, families, roads, organised crime and drugs and mental health – and the deployment model directs efforts toward these areas for the greatest possible impact.
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