Police is opening a non-emergency communications and digital centre to support the introduction of a single non-emergency number.
A lease has been signed for a building in Paraparaumu, north of Wellington, as part of the drive to improve service delivery.
“This is a significant milestone in our Service Delivery programme, which aims to improve the way we provide our service to the public,” says Assistant Commissioner Jevon McSkimming.
“We’re increasing our overall resources, and changing the way we work to provide a better service to those contacting Police in both emergency and non-emergency situations.
“The new non-emergency communications and digital centre increases our capacity to meet demand and is a key step as we prepare for the introduction of one non-emergency number for the whole country, as well as expand our online crime reporting services.”
Recruitment to fill the new roles will begin shortly.
“We’re aiming to have 50 new staff before Christmas, and 120 in Paraparaumu by the end of next year,” says Jevon.
“This is an exciting opportunity for current staff to consider a move to the Kapiti Coast, and for people to join Police in a vital role.
“These communicators will be the first point of contact for many members of the public and will play an important role in building the public’s trust and confidence in Police.
“We aspire to be the world’s safest country and we have a goal of achieving 90 percent trust and confidence by 2021. To achieve this, our commitment to service must be central to everything we do.
“So this year we’re setting ourselves up to transform the way we provide our service to the public. This is all in addition to building our frontline because we know the public still want to engage face-to-face with local police in their community.”
It is anticipated the Paraparaumu site will open in late 2018 when the fit-out and first round of recruitment are complete.
Click here for questions and answers about recruitment to the new roles.