KEY POINTS:
Police in the upper North Island expect emergency calls to increase by 1000 for each of the three weeks added to daylight saving this year.
The police northern communications centre in Auckland will increase its capacity and recruit more staff to cope with the extra workload, says its chief, Superintendent Allan Boreham.
"We've already started planning for it," he said of the extra hours of daylight.
"People, when they stay outside, they drink more alcohol."
Mr Boreham said the extra hours of daylight would mean adding "a couple of extra call-takers on each shift".
"Our calls in summer are around 20,000, approximately, in a week and in winter we sort of get around 17,000."
Mr Boreham said the staffing increase was also to cope with the steady annual growth of emergency calls, which was about 7 per cent.
Reasons for the increase in calls included population growth, with other possible factors being increased faith in the 111 system and less public tolerance of behaviour likely to end in a call to police, he said.
Police are running a recruitment drive aimed at university students, who they want to begin six-week training from November, in order to be qualified communicators by the busy summer season.
"We're going to use them to help us meet the extra demand for daylight saving and our current growth."
Mr Boreham said it was hoped the workers would want to do rostered hours such as weekends and late nights when their university studies resumed.
He said it took a six-week course and six weeks of experience in the call centre to become a communicator.
Fourteen full- or part-time positions are available at the centre in Grey Lynn. Training for those appointed to those jobs will begin in September.
It is hoped another 20 university students will join the ranks when university ends. Their training will start in November.
Mr Boreham said police were advertising in local media and at Student Job Search. A communicator's salary starts at just under $40,000.
The Government decided to extend daylight saving after receiving a petition launched by United Future leader Peter Dunne and Nelson city councillor Mark Holmes.
It gathered 42,000 signatures supporting the change.
In season
* 20,000 111 calls a week in summer.
* 17,000 111 calls a week in winter.
