Police Commissioner Andrew Coster is defending the response to Covid-19 lockdown breaches in alert level 3 areas, as a long weekend approaches.
It's been a busy week for Police on the Covid-19 front: there has been anti-lockdown protests, a lockdown-breaching party, and MIQ absconders, all in Auckland.
There there are compliance concerns for parts of the country under alert level 3 restrictions ahead of Labour Day.
Coster told Morning Report people are justifiably over it.
"We can see people are understandably sick of being in lockdown, and that's playing out in terms of some of the behavior.
"I think we need to focus on how well we've done and how close we are to being able to transition to something different, and we just need people to hang in there."
He defended how police responded to recent lockdown protests, where police attended gatherings of up to 1000 people but did not step in on the day.
Instead the organisers were charged once the lockdown had ended.
"We've been really consistent in firstly, warning that the protests are not able to occur, secondly, where it's inevitable that they are going to occur, to make sure that they are done as safely as possible and then thirdly to prosecute.
"When you have 1000 people gathered there's no police tactic that can make the situation better, and we've seen other jurisdictions try to do that and you end up with running stoushes that only bring people closer together. So, it's not an effective way of intervening."
Coster said officers attending on the day were taking note of who to speak to later on and gathering evidence.
He said it was a delicate balance to ensure things did not spiral out of control.
"Obviously, protest is protected under our laws, and so you're trying to understand the interplay between the restrictions and the right to protest.
"We think we've got that balance right by prosecuting the organisers."
Speaking on other compliance issues, Coster said frustration at a recent party in Auckland was understandable, and so far 11 infringements have been issued and police are still investigating.
He called a recent absconding from MIQ an "incredibly unfortunate situation", but said police were not involved until it was necessary to find the absconder.
Mandatory vaccination for officers considered
Coster said mandatory Covid-19 vaccination for officers is being considered.
High-risk workers in the health and disability sector already need to be fully vaccinated by December, and school and early learning staff by January.
Coster said the police are working with the Government and the public service on mandatory vaccination.
"We can certainly see the value for our people in terms of protecting their wellbeing.
"Also recognising that we go into many places, we wouldn't want police to be a vector for spread of the virus."
