It's a miracle he's alive: Collins

Police Minister Judith Collins. Photo / Rotorua Daily Post

Police Minister Judith Collins is "very concerned" about police safety and will hold meetings this week to find ways to make their job less dangerous.

She said the attack on senior constable Bruce Mellor was "horrendous" and "utterly sickening".

She said she was already due to meet Police Commissioner Howard Broad to discuss allowing officers greater access to firearms and reducing the number of officers, particularly in rural areas, who work alone.

"I think the lone officers in the middle of nowhere is a considerably different situation than a lone officer on a busy motorway.

"[Mellor] is pretty lucid and able to talk. I think it's a miracle he's alive."

NZ Police Association president Greg O'Connor said "ideally" no officers would work alone but that the numbers who were forced to were increasing.

The time had come for every officer to have access to firearms, he said.