I recently caught up with Community Constable John Way at the New Brighton Police station and got a useful update about policing in general and in the Coastal area. The visit was prompted by questions from residents around the future of the station and the direction of policing, particularly in the east.

I recently caught up with Community Constable John Way at the New Brighton Police station and got good information about policing in general and in the Coastal area. The visit was prompted by questions from residents around the future of the station and the direction of policing, particularly in the east.

Community Constable John Way is a New Brighton local, with a strong connection to the area and he was pleased to be able to give an update on what’s been happening.

The New Brighton Police station was built about 1973, and the retro decor is getting a makeover, with a growing number of officers stationed here. While there are no details yet as to how that will look, there will be more lockers and space for policewomen as the gender balance within the force swings closer to fifty-fifty. This shows that with further investment to modernise this building, the police have a firm commitment to a presence in the east and are here to stay.

John said his local knowledge of the area was helpful in that the best type of policing was preventative. John said one of the challenges of covid, was sharing information with the public, as they were not always able to open the station front doors if some of the team was off work sick or deployed to other teams. Although the New Zealand Police | Facebook page has 417,000 followers, however this had a national rather than local focus. John said he keen to utilise other methods of engaging with the community, including coming along to the Community Board. He noted that the Community Boards move to livestreaming, which I helped establish last year, would help provide an easier way for groups such as the police to update the community on these key issues.

New Brighton station may look quiet on the outside, but it has more staff operating from the building than ever before over 24 hours. The chances are incidents in the Coastal area will see police arriving faster on the scene.

Just a reminder of your options:

You can visit the New Brighton Police station, but the hours are limited at the moment due to staffing but will eventually get back to normal

There is Crime Stoppers 0800 555 111 for people with info/tip offs but don’t want to be identified