The second contingent of New Zealand Police will be leaving for Timor-Leste next week to be deployed under the umbrella of UNMIT, the United Nations mission.
Contingent commander Assistant Commissioner Graeme Cairns said the 25 member team will be working alongside other international police under a UN Police Commissioner. New Zealand Police staff will be focusing on maintaining law and order, and where possible, community policing including providing reassurance to local residents.
"This will be a new experience for the team as it has been quite some time since a major Police contingent from New Zealand has been deployed under the United Nations and wearing the distinctive blue beret."
New Zealand Police have been deployed previously under the UN in Cyprus, Namibia and earlier missions in Timor-Leste.
The 25 member team consists of twenty-one male and four female officers. Six members of the team will have already spent the last three months in Timor-Leste as part of the first contingent and are staying on for the six months of this deployment. Five members of the team have previously served in Timor-Leste with the NZDF or the Territorial Force. All are volunteers and come from all over New Zealand.
Assistant Commissioner Cairns said that it is expected that the UN mission will focus on rebuilding the local police so that they can eventually resume responsibility for maintaining law and order in Timor-Leste.
The contingent is undergoing familiarisation training at the Royal New Zealand Police College and will leave for Timor-Leste next week.
ENDS
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