Superintendent Tony Hill Photo: RNZ / Nathan Mckinnon
Police have received around one thousand submissions, including petitions, on a controversial proposal to restructure Canterbury staffing.
Federated Farmers was furious about the proposal, arguing local policing would be cut in favour of 24/7 hubs in Rangiora and Rolleston, and a one-size-fits-all model would not work for small rural towns like Culverden, Oxford, Leeston and Rakaia.
Hundreds of people turned up to a fiery meeting in Culverden in early August to express their anger at the proposal and fears fewer local police would leave them more vulnerable.
Canterbury district commander Superintendent Tony Hill said police were working their way through submissions after consultation closed on Monday.
"We received around 200 staff submissions and 800 submissions from the public or external parties, including some petitions. This was a very important process for our staff, as the people directly impacted by these proposals," he said.
Staff provided well-considered, high-quality feedback, Hill said.
"Members of the public have also sent in some outstandingly articulate and thoughtful feedback which demonstrated people have taken the time to look over the proposals in detail. All this feedback has been invaluable and has reinforced for me that we need to take more time with some aspects of the proposal and to keep tracking with others.
"While we are keen to provide decisions as soon as possible, we also need to allow enough time to consider all the feedback thoroughly. Our team is now working through the feedback for us to consider before any final decisions are made."
Hill said he hoped to provide an update on the next steps and timeframes in the coming weeks.
Under the proposal released publicly on 8 August, sole-charge station positions in Arthur's Pass, St Andrews, Pleasant Point and Rakaia would be cut, as well as two- and three-officer stations in Lincoln, Leeston, Amberley, Oxford and Culverden.
"Public safety teams" in Temuka and Waimate would also be scrapped.
They would instead be bolstered in Rolleston, Rangiora, Ashburton, Timaru and Christchurch with rural liaison officers to be based in Lincoln, Leeston, Oxford, Amberley, Waimate and Temuka.
Police also proposed culling family harm teams, drug and harm prevention officers, and school community officer positions across Canterbury.
A total of 131 positions would be established while 121 positions would be disestablished, although they were not like for like.
Police Association president Chris Cahill earlier described the proposal as "robbing Peter to pay Paul".
"We recognise the increased demand for a 24-7 response model in Selwyn and Rangiora but this should not be at the expense of the highly valued contribution rural response officers make to their local communities," he said.
Hill said the proposal was a "refocusing" rather than a reduction in sworn officers and while some roles would be disestablished, officers would be encouraged to apply for other positions.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
