The New Zealand Defence Force had not been called in to support police, acting district commander Inspector Darryl Sweeney said.
Police were preparing for the four-week lockdown period.
Measures would include an increased presence in the community during that time, though that would mainly be to provide reassurance, Insp Sweeney said.
They were also working with the owners of businesses that would be required to close over the four weeks, to ensure they had adequate security.
‘‘We’re ready for this,’’ he said.
‘‘More of our people will be on the frontline.’’
He urged people to follow the rules and behave ‘‘calmly and compassionately’’.
That included people not travelling unless it was essential to do so.
Police would take action if required to ensure people behaved responsibly, but Insp Sweeney hoped enforcement action would not be necessary.
‘‘We’re asking people to consider what they’re doing.
‘‘Police don’t want to be in a position of having to enforce what should be sensible behaviour.’’
Police had been ‘‘disappointed’’ with the behaviour of some people panic buying in recent days.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has called for people to shop normally, repeatedly confirming supermarkets would remain open and would not run out of stock.
‘‘We didn’t have many incidents, but we were a little bit disappointed that some people rushed to supermarkets,’’ Insp Sweeney said.
‘‘We’ll take action if we see unreasonable behaviour.’’
There has been talk of the New Zealand Defence Force being brought in to support police over the lockdown period.
Insp Sweeney said there were no plans for that to happen in the South at the moment, but it was ‘‘an evolving situation’’.
As police staff continued to work over the coming weeks, they would be taking a ‘‘sensible’’ approach to dealing with the public, including maintaining social distancing.
Insp Sweeney said he had also been working closely with Government departments locally to put plans in place.
‘‘We’re all in this together.’’
