The official launch of this mobile police station, which I have already seen in action, represents a great day in policing in the Counties-Manukau police district.

Thank you very much to District Commander Superintendent Steve Shortland not only for inviting me to join you today for this occasion, but also for encouraging the culture of initiative that is increasingly becoming a feature of policing in this district.

In fact, there could not be a better example of such a culture than this mobile station represents.

Because of the high level of Priority One jobs in the district, it is inevitable that much of the policing that occurs here is reactive in its nature.

But that makes it even more important to develop proactive policing strategies whenever the opportunity arises.

And that’s why I wanted to come here today to congratulate you on this initiative. The mobile police station has ‘proactive’ as its middle name, and I am really looking forward to ‘joining’ the station as it goes about its work later today.

Minister King gets a briefing on the operation of the mobile police station from Constable Cory Lowe

Counties-Manukau can feel justifiably proud that this mobile station is the first of its kind in the country.

There have been a number of factors driving this initiative. One, as I have already mentioned, is putting a fresh emphasis on proactive policing; another is the desirability of providing high police visibility in various parts of the district; and a third is using the station as a problem-solving tool.

The station certainly does all those things. Painted in police colours and with the appropriate signage, it will be highly visible wherever it goes; and it will provide comforting reassurance in whichever parts of the district it is used. It will help provide public confidence in police.

The year 2008 has started just as busily in this police district as 2007, and it is fitting for such a busy district to have a resource which is so mobile, adaptable and easily deployed .

As I said, in the New Zealand context the mobile station is a unique problem-solving tool.

Instead of attending isolated incidents the bus is deployed to an area which has had a series of crime problems, and these problems are dealt with holistically rather than as individual events. A good example of such effective policing might well be focusing on bag snatches in shopping centres.

While this Counties-Manukau mobile station is distinctly Kiwi home grown, a number of overseas police agencies operate mobile police stations based on similar principles.

Warwickshire Police in the United Kingdom say the aim is to make the officers more accessible, reduce the fear of crime, improve quality of life and increase public confidence; South Wales Police say the mobile station forms an integral part of police's high visibility strategy and is used to target crime hotspot areas; while Kent police say mobile police stations allow a far more flexible and tangible approach to neighbourhood policing.

I am sure that all those same virtues will become apparent here as the station becomes better known, and is deployed more widely.

The Mobile station has already been put to good use in the District when there was a shooting in Otara in late January. The bus was immediately brought into the trouble spot and gave residents in the immediate area a sense of security.

That represents a culture of proactive policing at its best.

It is also important that the mobile police station will improve customer service delivery through its public counter, and by bringing policing into the communities it serves.

In that way the station will contribute significantly to a new emphasis on community policing in this country, and I know other police districts will be watching the Counties-Manukau initiative with considerable interest.

There is another potential advantage to the mobile station as well. As you know, the Government, in line with its confidence and supply agreement with New Zealand First, is committed to adding an extra 1000 sworn police and 250 non-sworn over three years. We are well on the way to meeting the target by the end of June next year, but this mobile station will become an excellent and visible recruiting base at sports and cultural festivals. I look forward to the results.

Clearly, however, much of the mobile station’s work will often revolve around deployment to hotspots as and when they occur, and I know police hope that this will lead to reductions in family violence and other forms of violence and in crashes, particularly those related to drunk driving.

There are also community concerns around disorder, prostitution, graffiti and youths congregating in some shopping centres. The mobile police base will be able to deploy to those areas as a preventative measure and to gather information for the purposes of problem-solving.

The possibilities are virtually endless, and it will be interesting to see what other new and innovative uses for the mobile station that Steve and his staff at the Counties-Manukau District come up with in the future.

Counties-Manukau has a reputation for thinking outside the square when it comes to finding new ways to police the community.

This mobile station can only serve to enhance that reputation, and I am very proud to launch the new service. Congratulations again to everyone involved in developing the service, and to Counties-Manukau staff for the magnificent and often unrecognised work you do. Thank you again very much for inviting me to join you today.