The occurrence of last month’s horrific shooting in downtown Auckland catapulted two scenarios into the spotlight: one was positive and the other negative.

More than 80% of Police Association members are unhappy with the level of frontline staffing in New Zealand Police.

There was a common theme as our chairs reviewed the past year at the Police Association area committee annual meetings from May 31 to June 30, with many asking where the extra 1800 police officers were.

This column is written by a frontline police member. It does not represent the views or policies of the Police Association.

Paddy O’Brien blew the final whistle on his police career in 1995 but, nearly 30 years later, he is back at Police College.