Hon Mark Mitchell
Minister of Police

Police Minister Mark Mitchell will join with Australian Police Ministers and Commissioners at the Police Ministers Council meeting (PMC) today in Melbourne.

“The council is an opportunity to come together to discuss a range of issues, gain valuable insights on areas of common interest, and different approaches towards law enforcement challenges across our countries,” Mr Mitchell said.

“NZ Police works closely with their Australian counterparts, from the state level through to the federal Police. The forum is an opportunity to further that cooperation at the Ministerial level, exchange ideas, and learn from one another’s experiences.

“An example of this is the gang patch ban implemented in Western Australia. We saw that it was working well in WA, and decided it was something we could have in New Zealand too.”

The meeting comes in the context of NZ Police refocusing on Core Policing services. “Police have responded quickly to my letter of expectations, that outlined the need to return to Policing in the Community. Since then, we have seen the emergence of Community Beat Teams patrolling the streets in our major cities.

“This has also involved NZ Police recalibrating the approach to family harm. Police attendance of family harm events which do not include any offence or immediate risk of harm has increased significantly.

“This is a growing challenge that is also being felt across the ditch. I look forward to sharing New Zealand’s back-to-basics approach to policing and discussing respective efforts to address the growing demands on police resources.

The council will focus on topics including gender-based violence, family harm, youth offending, anti-money laundering, and firearms.

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