8 September 2011

Maori, Pacific, Asian wardens to patrol Rugby World Cup 2011

Maori, Pacific and Asian wardens will from Friday accompany police patrolling the four Rugby World Cup 2011 fanzones across the Auckland region.

The pool of 114 wardens will be deployed to cover Rugby World Cup fanzones including wider Auckland CBD areas such as the fan trail, K’Road and Ponsonby. Up to another 100 will be deployed elsewhere in the region. The wardens will provide a highly visible presence, a friendly face and reassurance to the some 95,000 visitors expected in Auckland during the cup.

“This is a unique opportunity to unite Maori, Pacific and Asian wardens to walk alongside each other as part of the police deployment plan,” said Councillor George Wood, chairperson of Auckland Council’s Community Safety Forum. “We see the Rugby World Cup project as a practical run-through for future deployments. These volunteer wardens, who assist as caretakers of Auckland’s diverse communities, will be available in future as a positive regional resource available to police, the council and Aucklanders.

“This network of volunteers is a visible presence at many community events throughout the year, providing security, traffic and crowd control, first aid and confidence for the public. It’s wonderful they’re now making themselves available to boost Auckland’s hosting capabilities to the many overseas and Kiwi visitors we’re expecting for Rugby World Cup.”

New Zealand Police began training the initial pool of Maori wardens three years ago at the Royal New Zealand Police College, then added Asian and Pacific patrols.

The project is a partnership between Auckland Council, New Zealand Police, ATEED (Auckland Tourism Events Economical Development), ARPP (Auckland Regional Pacific Patrol), Maori Wardens and Ethnic Wardens (Auckland Asian Safety Patrols, Central & West). The project is led by New Zealand Police and coordinated through Auckland District Police.

ENDS

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