IR-01-23-16710
19 June 2023
James
[FYI request #22945 email]
Dear James
Request for information
Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request of 29 May 2023. You
asked for information regarding a Newshub article dated 27 May 2023 which included the
following reference to a 220% increase in foot patrols in Auckland's CBD.
"Inspector Grae Anderson is responsible for central city policing. As a response to crime
concerns in the CBD, police set up a base right in the middle of the city Anderson said
there had been more than 11,000 foot patrols in the CBD this year – a 220% increase on
this time last year"
My response to each part of your request can be found below.
1.
The number of foot patrols month by month in Auckland's CBD from Jan 2020 until
April 30th, 2023. If this is not available, please provide all the data used to calculate
the 220% increase.
The 11,000+ foot patrols referenced relate to financial year to date (FYTD) figures for
Auckland City, of which the Auckland Central Area is a part. Please refer to Table 1A
directly below.
Table 1A: Prevention, 3F Foot Patrols, Auckland City, FYTD.
On a calendar year to date basis there were 1272 foot patrols in 2022 across the
Auckland Central Area versus 4363 foot patrols in the same period for 2023. This equates
to a 243% increase.
Alternatively, when calculated from May 2021 through April 2022 there were a total of
2261 foot patrols in the Auckland Central Area, this compared with 6288 foot patrols from
May 2022 until April 2023. This equating to an 178% increase over the comparative 12
month period.
Please refer to table 1B directly below and associated graph for the 3F - Foot Patrol
volume in Auckland Central Police Area in the specified date range.
The table and graph both relate to the Auckland Central Area only.
The Auckland Central Area, in general, encompasses the Parnel , Karangahape,
Wynyard Quarter, CBD, Viaduct Harbour, Grafton and Victoria Park areas.
Please note the reductions in April and May 2020 are due to the COVID lockdown in late
March. The same applies to the lower volumes observed Sept/Oct/Nov 2021, in which
Auckland was in lockdown from late August through to early December.
Table 1B: 3F – Foot Patrol volume in Auckland Central, 1 Jan 2020 – 30 Apr 2023
Events
Count
2020 2021 2022 2023
Jan
287
547
244
804
Feb
317
395
145
835
Mar
303
315
333
777
Apr
78
331
329
1189
May
107
517
290
Jun
419
365
364
Jul
394
198
363
Aug
209
109
706
Sep
274
21
960
Oct
502
54
788
Nov
409
38
574
Dec
561
688
836
Total
3860 3578 5932 3605
2.
Can you please also provide the Police definition of a foot patrol - is there a standard
length of time? area covered? etc.
A foot patrol is when officers are actively patrol ing on foot and are highly visible. Foot
patrols may include visitations and engagement with local businesses and members of
the public. The duration can vary from five minutes to an hour or more depending on
several factors. The figures provided account for all such patrols logged via radio or
mobility device by Auckland Central Area Police members and are geo-coded to the
specific locations.
Please note that as part of its commitment to openness and transparency,
Police proactively releases some information and documents that may be of
interest to the public. An anonymised version of this response may be publicly
released on the New Zealand Police website.
Yours sincerely
Inspector Graeme Anderson
Area Commander Auckland Central
New Zealand Police