Police set up Chch rural district

Press, 7 April 1988, Page 2

Police set up Chch rural district

Improving j the loti of. rural policemen in Canterbury is ambng the alms of Chief Inspector Peter Coster, head ofj the newly established Christchurch rural police district, i He hoped | for a Continued I Improvement' in housing, trnniport land equipment for policemen within the hew district, extending fnjmi the Conway River In! I he norfo to the Rangitutii River in the south. (Omitted from the area is the iChrlstcliurch city district, j j Chief Inspector Cpster said he hnl already placed a request for extra staff to' join the j 05 now in the district. He declined to say how many staff h'e has asked for. . I The rural area Is among four i districts In the central South Island police region, headed by Deputy! Assistant 'Commissioner j Emrhbtt | Mitten. The other districts are the West I Coast, ). South Canterbury, jand Christchurch. , . Chief Inspector Coster will meet next week the regional commander to put the rural district’s case for its funding allo-

cation for the coming year. ' i . ! With its own allocation, Chief I nspector Coster believed the rural district would be able | better to meet the needs ;of policemen iri the area. Chief Inspector Coster said rural policemen would no longer have to ask permission of the duty organisation to make changes ior do routine maintenance. This! he said, would lead to improved communication, faster deci-sion-making and a more streamlined service. Chief Inspector Coster said he would work towards improving communications in mountain areas ;and | between stations in the district. He hoped eventually to have | a rural policeman working in the Christchurch Central Police Station’s control room on each | shift to cater specially for rural policemen’s! needs.

Changes to the national police structure result from |a consultancy company’s research into the New Zealand Police.,

The implementation of the findings is known as Operation Blueprint.