Auckland's mayor Wayne Brown. Photo: MARIKA KHABAZI / RNZ
Auckland's mayor says it would be better if council were running the police in the city, but is adamant it's a safe place to be.
There's been considerable effort to increase safety in the central city.
Community Patrols NZ opened a base in the central city in September, after the launch of police's public facing CBD counter two months prior.
Police beat teams and community patrollers have also been out watching the streets.
Mayor Wayne Brown is hoping Aucklanders get out and enjoy the city over the summer, though safety concerns loom.
He and Auckland Minister Simeon Brown released a city centre action plan in November which they hoped would benefit families, workers, visitors and businesses.
RNZ met the mayor on the city's waterfront to talk summer and safety.
The mayor said he loved being on the North Wharf part of the city's waterfront.
"You can get involved with the water here and around at Westhaven, fantastic places to walk, people walking around it's really great.
"But there's been some problems in the CBD with some poor behaviour."
The mayor began by making his position on the issue clear.
"Council's responsibility is places, government's responsibility is people and behaviour," he said.
"I'm not the Minister of Police, although I think it would be better if the council ran the police like it does in a lot of cities."
Brown said there needed to be more of a police presence, and wanted the government to spend more time addressing issues around mental health issues.
"The government has the responsibility with some form of mental health," he said.
"I've put quite a bit of my own mayoral budget into having some of our staff out there, and I've been out with them, but some of the people there are so aggressive and frightening, and they all know that my staff can't arrest them or even touch them."
The mayor pointed to the council bylaws, saying they didn't work without enforcement powers.
"It only works when people are behaving well, we pay taxes to fix those things not rates."
The action plan was supported by the Ministry for Housing and Urban Development, the Ministry for Social Development, Police, Health New Zealand, the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment, Auckland Council, businesses, and social services.
It also included outreach teams connecting rough sleepers with mental health, addiction, and housing support, adding to the already increased police visibility in the CBD, and police and safety wardens focusing enforcement on areas linked to criminal activity and antisocial behaviour.
It hoped to ensure public spaces, like Pocket Park at Queen Street and Fort Street, were designed to be safe and welcoming, which it said reduced crime.
Litter and graffiti removal teams were set to operate "at pace", and targeted safety patrols were slated to continue.
The action plan would review bylaws to make sure they were fit for purpose.
Part of the action plan also focused on rolling out 207 additional houses for Housing First, and 100 social houses being made available by more efficient use of existing Housing First contracts.
Wayne Brown said council wasn't paying for it.
"We're not funding those," he said.
The mayor said Auckland was a safe city.
"The people that are going to cause you trouble, they're quite clearly there, don't go near them.
"I think the omelette has been over egged," Brown said.
He hoped Aucklanders would get out and make the most of the city over Summer, especially the beaches and parks.
"It's a city to be involved with the harbours and the water, and it's fantastic, we're lucky for having that," Brown said.
"Very few cities can boast this."
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
