Several buildings at Royal New Zealand Police College in Porirua have been assessed as severely earthquake-prone. Photo / NZ Police
Several buildings at Royal New Zealand Police College in Porirua have been assessed as severely earthquake-prone. Photo / NZ Police
Police are sending hundreds of workers into earthquake-prone buildings, despite significant safety risks identified.
Four buildings at the Police College are at 15% of the earthquake code, one at 20%.
Staff have expressed serious safety concerns, but police cite critical operations and ‘productivity’ as reasons for occupancy.
Police bosses are sending hundreds of workers and recruits into severely earthquake-prone buildings despite a report identifying “significant life safety risk” if the structures are hit by a major tremor.
An email to police IT workers - leaked to the Herald - was sent out on Monday advising of the decision to occupy a series of potentially compromised buildings at the Royal New Zealand Police College in Porirua.
Four of the buildings have been assessed by engineers at just 15% of the earthquake building code, with another only 20%.
They include the Memorial, administration, amenities and Barry Mason buildings, plus the pool and gymnasium complex.
The Memorial building, which houses up to 350 IT staff and contractors, “poses the most significant life safety risk”, the email said.
“However, the services being delivered in the building are critical to NZ Police operations.”
While IT services could be delivered through working from home arrangements, a workshop group considering the buildings’ future had expressed “significant concern” at the impact remote workers would have on “team culture and productivity”.
About 770 other staff and recruits use buildings on the Police College campus.
After weighing the risk to human safety against the impact on police services from leaving the buildings vacant, the executive leadership team had decided to continue occupying all building spaces, except a basement training area in the Memorial building.
Anyone with concerns about their safety was urged to talk to their manager or contact the Police College “wellness adviser”.
Police would need to manage any potential mental health impacts of affected users and create emergency evacuation plans.
“Allowances may need to be made for individuals who have a genuine fear of remaining in the building”, such as working from home.
Recruits during a Police Remembrance Day ceremony at the Royal NZ Police College in Porirua. Photo / Mark Mitchell
But given the nature of some activities at the Police College, including tactical and detective training which required practical exercises, “flexibility will not always be possible”.
The email said detailed engineering work would now take place to assess the likely scale and cost of mitigation measures, but strengthening work would not have to be completed until 2032.
While temporary mitigation measures were possible, “they do not substantially reduce risk exposure to occupants as they only address some of the vulnerabilities in the building”.
An assessment report noted that management of seismically vulnerable buildings could be challenging. Safety was “not absolute” and no building was earthquake-proof.
“Please be assured your safety at work is our priority,” the email said, “and a low rating is not a predictor of building failure, nor does it mean the building is imminently dangerous”.
The Royal NZ Police College in Porirua. Photo / Mark Mitchell
However, affected staff are furious at the decision. They say their lives are being gambled with for the sake of “productivity” - likely driven by cost pressures facing NZ Police.
“They’ve been trying to pressure people to come into the office so people have been coming in,” one IT worker told the Herald.
“They’re probably like, ‘What are the chances [of an earthquake?]’, but the chances are actually extremely high.”
The worker said many of his colleagues had expressed serious safety concerns but now expected to be recalled to work in the Memorial building.
Low assessments don’t mean imminent danger
A police spokeswoman said a report outlining occupancy decisions for the building was completed after they received low seismic ratings in 2022 and 2023.
“Following consultation in August 2024, the decision has been made to continue to occupy all building spaces, with the exception of one training space.”
Police were following MBIE guidance on occupancy of quake-prone buildings with low ratings, under which the buildings all “remain usable” , the spokeswoman said.
Work was under way to determine potential engineering solutions.
Police could not confirm how many staff had been working remotely since the buildings were assessed as quake-prone, but said a “general expectation” had been set around increased office presence, rather than working from home.
‘However, staff have also been told that they can work through any concerns or needs for working remotely on an individual basis with their managers.”
Lane Nichols is Deputy Head of News and a senior journalist for the New Zealand Herald with more than 20 years’ experience in the industry.
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