Superintendent Jeanette Park, Eastern District Commander:

The final day of tangi proceedings in Central Hawke’s Bay today has concluded without any significant issues.

We would like to thank our communities in Central Hawke’s Bay for their patience and cooperation over recent days, as a large number of mourners gathered for the tangi.

Police have had approximately 80 officers working on the ground in Central Hawke’s Bay for several days. This included officers brought in from other districts to bolster local staff numbers, including Eagle helicopter since Monday afternoon.

In addition, a number of officers undertook liaison with the whānau of the deceased, to understand timings and movements of mourners.

A significant amount of reassurance work has been carried out by our officers on the ground, who have been visiting local businesses and speaking to members of the community.

This proactive policing has been well received by Central Hawke’s Bay residents.

There has also been other proactive activity over recent days, including road policing checkpoints and approximately 200 traffic stops in the last 24 hours.

There have been a small number of arrests over the last five days, but these did not relate to the tangi directly and were rather for offending such as breach of bail conditions.

There was some minor traffic congestion on State Highway 2 near Waipawa as mourners arrived and departed today, however there were no significant hold-ups for members of the public.

A significant number of gang members are expected to travel back to their home districts across New Zealand from today, however Police will maintain a visible presence in Central Hawke’s Bay over the coming days, to provide continued reassurance to our communities there.

Anyone who witnesses driving-related offending or other unlawful behaviour can continue to report it via 111 (if it’s happening now) or 105 (if it after the fact), quoting file number 240514/0870.

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