Search

Australian and New Zealand Police and Emergency Management Ministers met jointly for the first time today in Wellington. Police and Emergency Management Ministers have previously met through separate ministerial councils.

Police Minister Judith Collins will chair a meeting of New Zealand and Australian Police and Emergency Management Ministers, Police Commissioners and senior officials this week.

The meeting will be held in Wellington on 28 – 29 July and will be attended by more than 60 delegates from New Zealand and Australia.

The meeting will look at how police and emergency services in Australia and New Zealand can work together at an operational and strategic level, and ways to implement best practices across jurisdictions.

Welcome and thank you for inviting me to join you today.

Gathered here this morning are representatives from five countries, 16 government agencies and over 20 private sector organisations.

The international dimension of this seminar reflects not only how seriously our jurisdictions view financial crime, but also how financial crime does not respect borders.

As long as there has been organised crime, there have been ever more complex money trails that have reached ever further around the world.

Police Minister Judith Collins today congratulated the New Zealand Police on winning a major award at the Telecommunication Users Association of New Zealand (TUANZ) Innovation Awards in Auckland last night.

Police and IT partner Datacom won the Local and Central Government Services Award for Operation SNAP, a web-based initiative that targets property crime.

The annual awards honour companies and individuals that have made a significant contribution to telecommunications in New Zealand.

Two major organised crime busts this week have sent gangs the message that crime won’t pay, Police Minister Judith Collins said today.

Police arrested around 25 people – mostly members of the Nomads gang – in the Wellington area and seized thousands of dollars in drugs, cash and vehicles. A further 25 people were arrested in the Bay or Plenty in another multi-agency raid on organised crime.

Police Minister Judith Collins today congratulated 10 Police officers involved in the Napier siege in 2009 who received New Zealand Bravery Awards at a ceremony at Government House in Wellington.

The officers were recognised for bravery during the siege which began with the fatal shooting of Police Senior Constable Len Snee by Jan Molenaar during a routine check of a Chaucer Rd address.

Police Minister Judith Collins today congratulated the New Zealand Police as they took out two top prizes at the Institute of Public Administration New Zealand (IPANZ) Gen-i Public Sector Excellence Awards in Wellington last night.

The annual awards celebrate initiatives within the public sector that are making a positive difference in our communities.

Police’s emergency 111 Deaf TXT service topped the Excellence in Working Together category.

Wellington’s new Multi-Agency Centre, Koru House, underlines the Government’s commitment to provide the best care and support for victims of child abuse, and to bring abusers to justice, Police Minister Judith Collins said.

The new centre, which was opened by Ms Collins today, is a joint initiative between Police, Child, Youth and Family, and the Hutt Valley District District Health Board.

It follows the establishment of similar Multi-Agency Centres in Auckland City, Counties-Manukau and Tauranga.

The Government will investigate the feasibility of developing a Whole-of-Government Radio Network as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), Infrastructure Minister Bill English and Police Minister Judith Collins announced today.

Over the past three years the Government has funded Police to build a digital radio network in Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury to replace their existing analogue network.

Police are to be congratulated for seizing over $2 million worth of methamphetamine today, says Police Minister Judith Collins.

A two-month operation, conducted by Police and New Zealand Customs, targeted an Iranian organised crime syndicate operating in the Auckland metro area.

The successful completion of the operation netted 2.3 kilograms of methamphetamine with a street value of $2,380,000. Police also arrested three people and seized $16,000 in cash, a Taser disabling device, a Range Rover and a BMW.

The seizure of 67.6kg of precursor drugs in Auckland this week was the result of great investigative work by Police and Customs, Minister of Police Judith Collins and Minister of Customs Maurice Williamson said today.

Three people have been arrested following the seizure in a combined Auckland Police metro drug squad and New Zealand Customs operation this week.

The Government is to undertake a review of New Zealand’s public prosecution services, the Attorney-General, the Minister of Justice, and the Minister of Police announced today.

“The review will be comprehensive, examining the organisational structures, governance, and accountability of agencies within the prosecution system, as well as their roles, functions, and processes,” said Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson, who is lead minister for the review.

An amendment to the Arms Act that would place controls on importing airguns that look like real pistols, military style semi-automatic firearms (MSSAs) or restricted weapons was introduced to the House today by Police Minister Judith Collins.

“Replica firearms, for which there are virtually no import controls, are frequently being used for criminal offending,” Ms Collins said.

“These replicas are easily mistaken for a real firearm which makes them attractive to criminals.

A Bill which makes offending against Police and Corrections Officers an aggravating factor at sentencing passed its first reading in Parliament today.

The Minister of Police and Corrections, Judith Collins, told Parliament that the current law did not require a judge to take a law enforcement officer’s status into account as an aggravating factor at sentencing. Instead, it is left to the discretion of the sentencing judge.

Police Minister Judith Collins has congratulated 13 Police officers who were named as recipients of New Zealand Bravery Awards today.

Thirteen of the Police award winners were recognised for bravery during an armed siege in Napier on 7 May 2009. The siege began with the fatal shooting of Police Senior Constable Len Snee by Jan Molenaar during a routine check of a Chaucer Rd address.

A 6.7 percent drop in total recorded crime per head of population in 2010 is a tribute to intensified crime fighting work by Police, Police Minister Judith Collins said.

The drop in crime compares to a 3.6 percent increase in the 2009 calendar year.

During 2010 most crime categories showed a decrease. There were 46 murders in 2010 compared to 65 in 2009, a drop of 23.6 percent. Fraud offences were down 26.9 percent, weapons offences were down 8.9 percent, drug offences were down 7.7 percent and burglaries were down 3.4 percent.

Police Minister Judith Collins today thanked two of the country’s top Police officers for their contribution to policing in New Zealand.

The terms of Police Commissioner Howard Broad and Deputy Commissioner – Operations, Rob Pope expire this week.

Mr Broad was appointed Commissioner in 2006. During his tenure he oversaw the rewriting of the Policing Act, the establishment of the Electronic Crime Laboratory and initiated the Policing Excellence programme which is ongoing.

Superintendent Mike Bush has been appointed Deputy Commissioner of Police - Operations, Police Minister Judith Collins announced today.

The appointment will be for a five-year term which commences on 3 April 2011. The Governor-General made the appointment on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.

Mr Bush will work alongside the new Police Commissioner Peter Marshall, who takes over the role on 4 April, and Deputy Commissioner - Resource Management, Viv Rickard.

Arrests in New Zealand as part of a major international paedophile bust shows how successfully New Zealand Police are working with overseas agencies to protect the most vulnerable in society, Police Minister Judith Collins said.

New Zealand Police have been working with international agencies since June 2009 to close down a major global paedophile ring which involved some New Zealanders.

Six people in New Zealand have been arrested. Five of those have already been convicted, with one still awaiting trial.

Police Minister Judith Collins has thanked her Australian counterparts for the assistance of Australian Police officers following the devastating Christchurch earthquake.

Ms Collins has written to the Federal Government and the Police Ministers from South Australia, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, Northern Territory, Western Australia and New South Wales to convey the New Zealand Government’s appreciation for their help.

Around 300 Police officers from throughout Australia began arriving in Christchurch on 25 February.

Ladies and gentlemen

Thank you for that warm welcome.

It is a pleasure to be with you here today.

All our thoughts are with the people of Japan this afternoon as they confront an unimaginable crisis.

As a nation that is, itself, coming to terms with a major catastrophe, we share their grief and their sorrow at this time of great loss and uncertainty.

When the earthquake struck Christchurch on 22 February, Japan was quick to offer help.

Their people were on the ground just days after the quake struck.

A major organised crime bust in Nelson District, in which bomb-making equipment was seized, demonstrates the serious risk that gangs pose to the community, Police Minister Judith Collins said.

Ms Collins has congratulated Police and other agencies on the success of Operation Explorer which targeted the Red Devils, a puppet gang for the Hell’s Angels.

Police Minister Judith Collins today commended New Zealand and overseas Police for their thorough and professional response to the 22 February Christchurch earthquake.

“When disaster struck, the swift and professional response of our Police was instrumental in saving lives, maintaining order and providing reassurance and comfort to the people of Christchurch,” Ms Collins said.

Good morning.

It is wonderful to see you all here so bright and early today.

And it’s great to see so many familiar faces.

It is a pleasure to be talking to a group of people who will be very much in the driver’s seat of New Zealand’s economic recovery in the months and years ahead.

As New Zealand and the world emerges from the recession there will be plenty of opportunities for New Zealand businesses.