Day in the life of the...New Zealand Police Highway Patrol
To achieve this, the New Zealand Police focuses on five key areas that threaten to undermine that objective.
These are speed, alcohol, restraints, highrisk drivers and careless and dangerous driving. Road Policing officers know these as “the fatal five”.
Road Policing units nationwide run four national and 12 regional campaigns targeting these five issues each year.
Fair call
Sergeant Tim Crum from the Wellington Highway Patrol said that speed continued to be the most problematic.
“On a busy day I can apprehend up to 30 people for speeding. It is important you do too because studies haveshown that letting people off with a warning doesn’t change their actions.
“Of course people aren’t exactly happy with getting issued a ticket but I think if we remain consistent across the board with the way we handle it, people respect us.”
Mr Crum also said Police aimed to remain highly visible in the areas they covered, and whenever possible promoted ongoing and well publicised campaigns about the work they’re doing.
“We try to remain as transparent as we can,” he said.
Good bits
One of the best things about the job is the variety, according to Mr Crum.
“You never know what is going to happen from day to day. Every day is different.
“You can never be fully prepared for what you are going to encounter as one minute you may be pulling over someone for a routine stop and the next minute you’re involved in a police pursuit following a failure to stop. This factor certainly keeps it interesting.”
Working with like-minded people was another good part of the job, Mr Crum said.
“You really do meet some good people, who are committed to keeping our road toll down.”
Challenging parts
One of the most difficult aspects of the job was informing a victim’s family following a fatal crash.
“This is something which never gets easier no matter how many times you do it, but once again it is all part of the job.”
Mr Crum also listed paperwork as one of the ‘downsides’ of the job. His police colleagues in other sections would no doubt concur.
“I find the best way to deal with this is to write it all up straight away. This way you prevent it all from getting on top of you.”
Skilled workers
To be successful in their job Mr Crum said officers needed to have a pretty good grasp of legislation and be self-motivated.
“As you are out there on the roads by yourself, you have to be comfortable about being your own boss. This means taking responsibility for your actions.”
A good knowledge of the roads you cover is also a necessary skill. “This can really come in handy, especially when you are involved in a pursuit.”
What has changed?
With 26 years service, Mr Crum has seen many changes within policing.
The biggest in the Highway Patrol setting has been a change to a more focused and professional pproach.
“Things like adopting the ‘fatal five’ approach have allowed us to become more focused on issues that are really affecting our road toll.
We believe approaches like this have helped us change the behaviours of drivers on New Zealand roads,” he said.
