Senior Sergeant Mel Aitken, of Dunedin, is Kiribati-bound.
Photo by Peter McIntosh.
Spending several months in Kiribati advising the local
constabulary on road policing matters will provide something of
a different challenge for one Dunedin police officer.
Senior Sergeant Mel Aitken says she will probably spend the
first days of her month-long deployment to the tiny Pacific
nation, the islands of which lie across the equator and only
2m above sea level, learning about the place.
She will also be assessing the road policing situation before
beginning her core work advising on and supervising road
policing policy development.
Snr Sgt Aitken is one of four New Zealand police officers
being seconded to the island this year to provide advice and
training to local police as part of an NZAid sponsored
project.
The other three officers, not from the Southern District,
will provide advice on youth crime issues, alcohol abuse and
emergency planning.
Yesterday, she said she knew little about the road policing
situation in Kiribati, but understood the nation had issues
with drink-driving and speeding and road safety.
It did not have a dedicated traffic unit within its
300-strong police force.
Her role was to observe and advise local police on various
ways of enforcing road rules and educating the public, she
said.
Formerly a senior officer in Dunedin's strategic traffic
unit, she was passionate about road policing because it was
an area of policing where you could see good results, she
said.
She was also looking forward to experiencing a different
culture for a while.
Snr Sgt Aitken will arrive in Kiribati for her first of three
month-long visits on March 17.
debbie.porteous@odt.co.nz
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