10. Question No. 10—PoliceANAHILA KANONGATA'A (Labour) to the Minister of PoliceQuestion No. 10—Police10. ANAHILA KANONGATA'A (Labour) to the Minister of Police: What recent milestones have been reached on the roll-out of the Tactical Response Model?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN (Minister of Police): Earlier this month I attended the first post-pilot roll-out of the nationwide Tactical Response Model (TRM) in Porirua for the Wellington district. This roll-out carries on the work of ensuring that the Tactical Response Model is available in all of the 12 police districts in New Zealand. The Tactical Response Model ensures our front-line officers have the equipment the training and the additional intelligence and support they need to identify and manage those people who present the greatest risk within our communities. As Minister of Police one of my key priorities is to back our police and ensure they have the rules and the tools to keep our communities safe. That's exactly what the nationwide roll-out of the TRM model helps to achieve.Anahila Kanongata'a: What police districts has the Tactical Response Model rolled out in?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: As already mentioned I was in Wellington to see the roll-out on 12 July and the first districts to go live were also rolled out. Last year's successful trial of the TRM was completed in four different police districts: Northland Counties Manukau Waikato and Central. I am pleased to inform the House that since the Prime Minister announced earlier that the TRM will be rolled out nationwide this model has been rolled out in Northland Waikato and in Wellington. Further to that I'm advised that Southern district will go live later this week and the Bay of Plenty district will be rolling out next week. Under the current time lines police expect full nationwide roll-out in all districts by the beginning of September.Anahila Kanongata'a: How has the Government enabled the Tactical Response Model?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: The funding for the TRM model began in September 2021 when Cabinet approved $15.5 million to develop the model. Following the initial successes Cabinet approved a further investment of $62.7 million to trial the Tactical Response Model in four proof-of-concept districts. Cabinet subsequently approved $122.5 million for the nationwide roll-out and ongoing implementation of the Tactical Response Model. Unlike others in the House when this Government says we're backing the police we put our money where our mouth is.Anahila Kanongata'a: What feedback has the Minister seen to the roll-out of the Tactical Response Model?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: I agree with recent comments from the Police Association President Chris Cahill who described the value of the national roll-out of the TRM owing to the success of those proof-of-concept districts. Those successes include encouraging results of the trials where there was an estimated reduction of about 40 percent in the use of force events where police were injured by a subject compared to that experience without the TRM. It keeps our front line safer. I've also heard firsthand from front-line officers who are highly supportive of the model who have told me that it provides opportunity in their policing careers to focus specifically on targeting high-risk offenders as a tactical response. Unlike others in the House who just talk a big game we continue to actually deliver and back our police.Hon Mark Mitchell: Does the Minister think that New Zealand is a safer country today than it was six years ago?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: I will refer to my full comment: I believe that New Zealand is safer with 1800 additional police and I also think that our front line is safer with the Tactical Response Model.Hon Mark Mitchell: So is the Minister saying then that with the additional 1530 front-line police officers that New Zealand today is a safer country than it was six years ago?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: The ability for our front line to respond quickly to urgent issues is advanced by the fact that we have more police out there doing their jobs each day that are resourced and we also have the assets of the Tactical Response Model that combine risk assessment as well as intelligence and kit to make sure that police on the front line respond quickly and also proportionately to risk.