Police family violence teams in Napier and Hastings will get eight new staff in the first stage of a four-year programme of boosting police numbers throughout New Zealand.
Details were released yesterday, two weeks after a Budget 2017 "Safer Communities Package" announcement that police staff will increase by 880 sworn officers and 245 non-sworn staff over the four years starting July 1.
Commissioner Mike Bush said yesterday about 220 "new additional recruits" will be added each year, with the Eastern District, which extends from East Cape to Norsewood and is one of 12 police districts throughout the country, getting 19 in the first 12 months.
Acting district commander Inspector Tania Kura said eight would be in the Hawke's Bay area, comprising four in the Family Intervention Team in Napier-Hastings, three in the Child Protection Team across the twin cities, and a District victims and family violence co-ordinator based in Hastings.
Tairawhiti, the district's northern sector including Wairoa and Gisborne, will get 11 extra positions, including four as part of restoring the Wairoa station as a "24/7 response base".