The Minister for Police said Maori and ethnic wardens doing community patrols could help free up police to respond to crime in the area.
Police Minister Ginny Andersen Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Minister for Police Ginny Andersen wants volunteer wardens to do more to help patrol the streets of Auckland's city centre and "supplement" the police.
There are renewed calls for more police on the streets of Auckland's central city after a recent fatal shootings incident at a construction site.
The city's central business association Heart of the City spent $620,000 on security in the year ending July, including on 15 private guards.
Andersen met with the association to discuss the topic on Friday.
She said Māori and ethnic wardens doing community patrols could help free up police to respond to crime in the area.
"What I'm looking at is how we can utilise the existing police there and use the additional support of the wardens to increase community safety and also have a security presence in that CBD area.
"We would look at what ability there is to have better coordination of those voluntary warden services to supplement police."
Andersen said there were more police on the ground while the city hosted the FIFA Football World Cup but any ongoing increase in officers would be an operational decision.
"The decision to put more police officers on the ground in Auckland CBD is an operational decision and that would sit with the area commander and the district commander to determine that."
Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck said while wardens provide an added layer of security, she still wanted to see more officers out and about.
"I will continue to raise the needs of the central city in terms of police resourcing, but we're very positive about discussions around how wardens can supplement and add another layer to safety initiatives," she said.
Beck said she wanted a ratio of one police officer to 480 people in the central city.
"We're nowhere near that according to the figures we've got."
Andersen said she would continue to meet with the city's leaders.
"I acknowledge that there's been a real problem in that downtown area and that's why I'm continuing to meet with those key leaders in Auckland," Andersen said.
"I'm engaged to try and get on top of the problem and increase community safety in that area."
