Invercargill Police Iwi Liaison Officer Simon Kairau will now be based weekly at the offices of a local Māori trust.
Simon Kairau Photo: RNZ/ Eru Rerekura
Simon Kairau will be working at the Ngā Kete Matauranga Pounamu Charitable Trust's office every Tuesday.
Ngā Kete Chief Executive Officer Tracey Wright-Tawha said Mr Kairau will integrate into the ethos of Ngā Kete's mahi, be accessible to her staff, and enhance the already strong relationship between her organisation and police.
By having Mr Kairau on site it not only fitted in with its Whānau Ora approach, but it also worked well with the police strategy to reduce the number of Maori offenders, she said.
"Simon is a positive role model for our community and for whānau and for Māori," said Ms Wright-Tawha.
"We know about the over-representation of Māori in offending statistics. We want to turn in the tide in that, and that's very much a police project at the moment -Turning the Tide - we want to be a part of that journey to enable change in a community setting."
Simon Kairau said he was looking forward to working more closely with Ngā Kete Matauranga Pounamu Charitable Trust and the Maori community.
