NZ Police take top award for building trust and confidence in government

A New Zealand Police initiative was among the big winners at the Institute of Public Administration New Zealand (IPANZ) Excellence awards, last night taking top honours for building trust and confidence in government.

The awards, which celebrate outstanding performance and significant achievements in New Zealand’s public sector, recognised the success of Police’s ongoing initiative in Enhancing Trust and Confidence through Culture Change at New Zealand Police.

The judges commended NZ Police for its, “well-integrated, holistic, long-running activity which is clearly having results in improving people’s trust and confidence in the police.”
It’s a Police programme that includes new values of empathy and diversity which have been embraced by staff and a new code of conduct.

In 2015, the Citizen Satisfaction survey and engagement survey results placed public trust and confidence in Police at 78% - up 9% from 2008.

Police is also now a leading agency in diversity.

Over the past decade, the number of female officers has increased by 45%, Maori by 20%, Pasifika by 55% and Asian by 215%. (As of December 2015, 19% of constabulary staff were female, 11.75% Maori, 5% Pacific and 2.5% Asian.)

Acting Commissioner Mike Clement said the win was a fantastic result.

“This award is an excellent acknowledgment of the journey we have been on as an organisation.

“Culture change in an organisation takes a long time.

It’s through initiatives like Our Code and Our Values that we can make the biggest impact.”

It wasn’t the only recognition for Police at Wednesday’s IPANZ awards, with the joint Safe Summer Coromandel initiative being short-listed as a finalist for achieving collective impact.

Community groups and agencies involved in the Safe Summer Coromandel project include Police, other emergency services, ACC, Family Violence Services, Waikato District Health Board, The Health Promotion Agency and Thames-Coromandel District Council.

In 2011, Police approached other emergency services to work collaboratively on sharing each other’s safety messages among the wider community.

It’s an approach that’s led to a 60% reduction in fatalities and 30% reduction in violent crime over the summer months, from 2011-14.

Acting Commissioner Mike Clement said New Zealand Police’s success at the awards was recognition of the quality and capability of Police staff.

“Prevention First is all about working together with partner agencies and our communities for better outcomes for New Zealanders.

These awards reflect the success of that approach and collaborative working.”

ENDS

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