Police have carried out more than 11,000 foot patrols in the past 12 months, say police. File photo. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Police foot patrols might be on the rise in central Auckland, but a dedicated police station is vital to improve the perception of safety in the CBD, says a top city property developer.
A number of central city Aucklanders told Police Minister Mark Mitchell at a law and order meeting last night that they did not feel safe and they wanted more officers on the beat.
Police say they have substantially increased foot patrols in the city and crime is tracking downward in the CBD, after several years of a rising crime rate.
But Precinct Properties chief executive Scott Pritchard - who is also chairperson of Auckland Council's city centre advisory panel - told Checkpoint a station in the centre of town would be a clear commitment by police that they had a presence in the area.
"And if there is an issue, and particularly in and around hot spots in the city centre, they are close by. A thousand metres is a long way when you are feeling threatened by someone."
He said Auckland's city centre was a "remarkable place", but there was a perception that it was becoming increasingly unsafe, and as long as that perception was there, the reality was that people would stay away.
"It's one of the best waterfront cities in the world and we need people to believe it's safe so they will come here.
"What we want is for Aucklanders and visitors to feel as though the city centre is a place to go to, and at the moment I don't think they feel that is the case."
He said there was nothing that made people feel safer than seeing police in the city centre
"The police do a wonderful job, we just need more of them in the city centre to make people feel safe when they are in here."
Pritchard told Checkpoint that every major city centre in the world prioritised safety.
"And I would say in Auckland city it has not been prioritised for a number of years, and it's been disappointing that even in the last six-nine months, with a new government, we still haven't seen any prioritisation of the city centre and ensuring that it is safe for people."
He said residents and businesses in the CBD were hoping for a more committed response from central government to get on top of the issue.
'We've got more people out there'
The police minister claimed last night that foot patrols in Auckland CBD had increased 60 percent since National came to power, although he was unable to say how many patrols were occurring before the coalition came into government.
And while Auckland central's top cop was unable to confirm the figure, he said they had increased "significantly" in the past 10 months.
Area Commander for Auckland City Central Inspector Grant Tetzlaff said police had notched up more than 11,000 foot patrols in the past 12 months, about 30 a day.
"We have seen a large increase in foot patrols over the recent period, that comes down to us increasing the staff we had on our frontline beat team. Simply put, we've got more people out there."
Tetzlaff told Checkpoint that the number of crimes had been increasing for a "number of years", but crime was currently down about 3 percent on the same time last year.
