Distressed Melbourne resident calls cops - in NZ

A woman who called Palmerston North police from Melbourne threatening to kill herself was kept talking while a trans-Tasman police operation swung into operation.

Constable Darrel Cowen talked to the distraught woman, who had previously lived in Palmerston North, for about an hour while the call was traced and police in Melbourne went to the woman's house.

Detective Sergeant Tim Moffatt said the call came in about 4am on Friday.

"Certainly from time to time very distressed people call and our staff deal with them and calm them down. Generally speaking things come to a good conclusion," Mr Moffatt said.

"The only difference this time was that it was from over the water, instead of across the other side of town."

Mr Cowen was a mature officer who was good at dealing with people and had "the gift of the gab", Mr Moffatt said.

While there had been some initial problems tracing the call, the officers involved had worked together well to deal with the matter.

The woman who made the call had been dealt with by police in Melbourne and then released, Mr Moffatt said.

He did not know why she had called this country.

"She used to live in Palmerston North so may have had the phone number," he said.

- NZPA