Northlanders ‘frustrated’ about long police response times in region

A growing mistrust is building in Northland over long waits for police to attend urgent callouts. Photo / NZME

Long waits for police to attend urgent callouts in rural Northland have caused some families to feel “frustrated” and develop “mistrust” for law enforcement.

Police data shows the average response time for officers to attend rural callouts in May this year was one hour and 19 minutes - the third-highest after Manukau and Waikato.

Alesha Michelle Norman, who lives in Waimā, South Hokianga, said her children have been scarred by the belief that “police won’t come” following a gun violence incident in May 2020.

“We were under siege for two and half days and didn’t have anything to protect ourselves from a person wielding a weapon.

“The police delay to the event caused my children to lose confidence in the police. And they now prefer to call whānau for help than law enforcement.”

Norman recalled it all started on the night of May 26, when her son heard their neighbour fire a volley of shots from his property.

This was after her husband had confronted the person about threatening an aunty across the creek.

The police were called and responded swiftly the first time.

The following day, the neighbour raised his double-barrel shotgun and shot a bullet over her son’s head.

The mother said later that evening, the person posing a risk returned and started to walk along their fence line and fired off several shots in the air while “threatening them.

“That’s when I contacted the police again and was assured that officers would come in due time.”

As the night grew, her family became more restless and kept on calling the police to know how soon they would arrive.

“We couldn’t sleep because of fear and remained highly vigilant.”

After multiple 111 calls by her parents and other concerned neighbours, the officers finally arrived the next afternoon and arrested the person.

“By the end of the ordeal, we were all feeling angry and traumatised. And it’s still something that impacts us to this day.

“For instance, when my daughter was involved in a crash some time ago, she called me instead of calling emergency services, as she believed they wouldn’t come in time,” Norman said.

While the average response time for police to attend callouts in urban areas in Northland was 32 minutes and 50 seconds, their attendance in rural areas averaged one hour and 19 minutes and 25 seconds for May.

The police data on response times was obtained from a written parliamentary response from Minister of Police Mark Mitchell replying to Labour’s Ginny Andersen.

Several concerned police officers who didn’t want to be named believed the delayed responses were reflective of low staffing levels in the region.

“Those response times are high not because officers don’t want to come, it’s just they can’t,” said one officer.

Another added the police as an employer hasn’t done much to address the “lack of numbers” as it has been ongoing for more than 10 years now.

Norman said she sympathises with police being understaffed.

“But what happens when people’s safety is at risk? What realistic safety plans do they have to ensure no other family goes through the same experience as ours?”

Northland's new district commander Matt Srhoj blames distance and remote areas for high response times. Photo/ Michael Cunningham

Northland Police District Commander Matthew Srhoj said he couldn’t comment on the specific incident but assured that police always prioritised incidents involving any serious harm.

While he acknowledged that having more police in the region would benefit, he believed that the biggest contributors to high response time were limited to distance and the many remote areas in the region.

“So, if a police team in Rawene needs to go to Kohukohu. They can either take the 20-minute ferry ride or drive an hour and a half to the location. That’s why rural response times are higher than the urban ones.”

Responding to Norman’s question on whether police had a current plan to improve long waits, Srhoj admitted to having no immediate answer and would have to give it a bit more thought.

“But we are definitely looking to future-proof our response times. It’s all about adjusting our workforce to what the demand looks like,” Srhoj said.

Avneesh Vincent is the crime and emergency services reporter at the Northern Advocate. He was previously at the Gisborne Herald as the arts and environment reporter and is passionate about covering stories that can make a difference. He joined NZME in July 2023.