As the Eastern Police District was one of four districts the Government considered the biggest priority to receive more Police, Police Minister Paula Bennett said it would receive an additional 68 sworn police staff over the next four years.
The district would also be one of the first in New Zealand to have a 24/7 response police base - with Wairoa station one of four set to be upgraded in the 2017/2018 year.
There would also be a 24/7 Police base in Central Hawke's Bay, Ms Bennett said. Its exact location had not been decided, but was expected to be in Dannevirke or Waipukurau.
Eventually there would be 20 of these bases, as police were "committed" to meeting the Government target that 95 per cent of New Zealanders would live within 25km of a 24/7 Police base by 2022.
"We recognise that our regional communities have different pressures and concerns and feel safer if they know a 24/7 Police response service is nearby," Mr Bush said.
The announcement was welcomed by Eastern District Commander Superintendent Sandra Venables, who said it would help police continue to keep the community safe.
"Every day our staff strive to prevent and reduce crime. We also ensure that if a crime does happen, we work hard to hold the offender accountable and prevent the same crime occurring again," she said.
"We are fully committed to making a difference and the boost in numbers improves the ability of our staff to build safe communities."
She, and other District Commanders nationwide, would now determine where the additional staff would be deployed.
"As part of that process we will consider where the new staff are best placed to target and catch offenders, prevent harm and victimisation and provide a more responsive police service to communities."
As part of the announcement, Mr Bush also said 140 extra officers would be earmarked for regional and rural areas - with up to 40 of these to form a Rural Duties Officer Network, focusing on rural issues, building strong local networks and supporting confident rural communities.
The frontline investment would also allow an extra 80 police to be put into organised crime, Mr Bush said, including specialised task forces made of investigative staff, asset recovery specialists and forensic staff.
The Safer Communities package would also give police resources to develop a single non-emergency number, a new crime-reporting line, 12 mobile police stations, 20 extra ethnic liaison staff and 24/7 operation of the Eagle helicopter.
