Drug busts and offenders' use of guns have led to a boom in the number of armed offenders squad callouts in the past 15 years.
There were 992 callouts last year - compared to an average of 513 callouts each year between 1996 and 2009.
The
head of the country's 17 armed offenders squads, Superintendent Bruce
Dunstan, told the New Zealand Herald the increase in callouts was
because the squad's responsibilities had changed.
It now provides
assistance for drug raids, as well as armed incidents, with drug
operations and executing search warrants accounting for nearly
two-thirds of callouts, he said.
The risks police faced without
armed backup were highlighted when Christchurch man Christopher Graeme
Smith shot two officers and killed police dog Gage as they executed a
routine search warrant for cannabis in 2010.
Mr Dunstan says
offenders seem increasingly more willing to use a firearm than they were
a decade ago - and police require new training and equipment to deal
with offenders now.
"Offenders are likely to be more dangerous and prone to irrational behaviour as well as being more likely to be armed."
The
number of armed offenders squad callouts could drop, when all frontline
police have access to Glock pistols and Bushmaster rifles in locked
boxes in patrol cars by July.
NZN