The police say a centralised reporting line for non-emergency calls will not diminish the role of local police in their communities.
A refurbished building housing the Crime Reporting Line was opened in South Auckland on Thursday so the service can roll out nationwide.
Since 2006, the line has been introduced to all but the Tasman, Northland and Southern police districts and is due to reach those by the end of June.
The manager of the Northern Communications Centre, Superintendent Kelvin Powell, says local stations forward non-emergency calls to the line, freeing up frontline officers for crime prevention.
Police Minister Anne Tolley says staff at the line collect information that's sent to local police, giving them an accurate picture of crime patterns in their areas.
