Highway Patrol, Strategic Traffic Unit and Commercial Vehicle Safety Team 
vehicles now have an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to help save 
lives.
Police has rolled out AEDs in 368 vehicles across the country as part of its 
commitment to safe homes, safe roads, and safe communities.
“We are often the first on the scene at crashes or medical events,” says 
Superintendent Steve Greally, Director National Road Policing Centre.
“Having an AED in vehicles means we can provide support to someone 
suffering from heart failure until the medical emergency team arrives.”
An AED is a lightweight, portable device that delivers an electric shock 
through the chest to the heart. The shock can potentially stop an irregular 
heartbeat (arrhythmia) and allow a normal rhythm to resume following sudden 
cardiac arrest (SCA). According to St John, SCA is one of the leading causes 
of death in New Zealand.
“Someone living in an urban area might expect a rapid response from a 
mobile medical service, like St John, but this isn’t the case in the more 
rural parts of New Zealand,” says Superintendent Greally.
An AED can increase someone’s survival chances by up to 44 per cent. 
Without an AED the chance of survival decreases by 10 per cent for each 
minute that passes without defibrillation.
Steve Dickson, Acting Road Policing Manager Northland says, “I have no 
doubt that the availability of defibs in Police vehicles in remote Northland 
communities will save a life – it’s just a matter of when.” Northland 
District has been allocated 10 AEDs.
Southern District Acting Road Policing Manager Ian Temple says “One of our 
fundamental roles is to preserve life. Having these defibrillators in many of 
our patrol vehicles in rural and provincial areas means we’re now better 
placed to help people in need.” Southern District has been allocated 23 
AEDs.
Dan Mattison, Road Policing Manager Tasman says, “We have a geographically 
spread district with a scattered, aging population and limited resources. Our 
staff are out in the community and often the first on hand in times of 
crisis. These AEDs are a critical tool to enable officers to respond 
effectively when crucial minutes can determine the outcome.” Tasman has 
been allocated 13 AEDs.
Canterbury District Road Policing Manager Natasha Rodley says, “Having 
defibrillators means we can act quickly and potentially save more lives. When 
it comes to cardiac arrests, a few minutes can make all the difference as to 
whether someone comes home from hospital or not.” Canterbury District has 
been allocated 14 AEDs.
Commercial Vehicle Safety Team (CVST) National Manager Mike Brooklands says, 
“Having the AED in the CVST vehicles ensures an ever-wider coverage across 
the network especially in the remote rural areas. We can support families in 
critical times of need by decreasing the response time of other emergency 
services and potentially save a life.” The four CVSTs have been allocated 
70 AEDs.
Districts Auckland City, Waitemata and Counties/Manukau have 66 AEDs. Waikato 
and Bay of Plenty have received 65 AEDs. Central District has 34 AEDs while 
Eastern has 13 and Wellington has eight. The remaining 52 have been allocated 
to national road safety vehicles (Highway Patrol and Mobile Road Safety 
Bases).
The 368 AEDs rolled out to districts are additional to existing district 
AEDs.

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