Police patrols at a standstill

Officers will take breaks from stationary patrolling . Photo / File

Forget about walking the beat - some police officers have been told to stand still.

Modified foot patrols in the Waitemata police district - which covers the areas north and west of Auckland city - have been instructed to stand still to increase visibility.

"When our staff walk around on foot patrolling they tend to only be seen by people walking in the same direction, but if our staff stand still in the same spot for a period of time they become more visible to more members of the community as they walk past the officer in both directions," said Inspector Rob Cochrane.

He said the initiative was focusing largely on the Henderson central business area.

"This was not a matter of new police tactics but rather modifying our approach to think a bit differently to ensure our staff were as visible as they could be."

But officers will take breaks from stationary patrolling and at times will walk into retail shops and engage the shop owners.

The issue was raised at the Crime in Henderson forum held last Wednesday night to address community concerns about crime, particularly involving young people, in the area.

In the Counties-Manukau police district, which runs from Howick to Franklin, the stationary patrols were called "static patrols" and had been used for some time, said a spokeswoman.

Outcomes from the increased police presence in Henderson meant 50 per cent less graffiti, youth staff working on Thursday and Friday evenings and more frontline staff deployed into Henderson.