Karen Ellis is about to step into the unknown, and she couldn’t be happier about it.
The Welsh-born New Zealand police inspector, who once served with the British Army in Northern Ireland, was recently appointed NZ’s first rural police manager and is responsible for providing a rural perspective at police national headquarters in Wellington.
Her appointment is something of a breakthrough for the rural sector and comes on the back of a 2018 Independent Police Complaints Authority (IPCA) review that found the police lacked a strategy for allocating and delivering services to rural communities.
The police have now launched the Rural Policing Enhancement Project to ensure rural policing is fit for purpose.
Ellis is relishing the prospect and determined to make her mark on rural law enforcement.
“A significant part of my role is to focus on the rural staff and their whanau … to enable and equip them to do the amazing mahi that they do for us on behalf of police,” Ellis said.
“It’s important to understand the challenges within our rural communities. We want to provide the best possible service for the community. The community is the backbone of NZ and it’s a massive area we cover geographically.”
Ellis said the police have high expectations of officers working at rural stations and it is crucial those staff know they have the support of management.
NZ has 104 police stations manned by between one and three officers. Those 165 officers are responsible for policing half the country’s land mass, covering forestry, bush, coastline, mountains and farmland.
Ellis said the biggest challenge facing rural staff is isolation, which was spelled out in the IPCA review.
“There are vast and different challenges from provincial policing. They’re like chalk and cheese, really.
“Sometimes police can be the only government agency rural communities see, especially in a one-person station. The big challenge is making sure rural staff make those connections with iwi and communities. They are pillars of their own communities and need to integrate within their communities.”
Rural police also run the risk of becoming too close to their communities and it is important officers know what they can deal with, and when to bring in outside agencies because its “outside our ambit of policing”.
Recently, Federated Farmers raised concerns about an increase in rural crime, saying farmers are seen as soft targets by criminals. The concern prompted Feds to launch another joint rural crime survey with the police. This will take place in March and April, just two years after the previous one.
Ellis said the police do not have the statistics to support these claims about rural crime, mostly because such a high percentage of it is never reported. Police have previously said that more than three-quarters of crime on farms goes unreported.
“We need that big-picture view. We need crimes to be reported to us to understand what we need to do to prevent or manage crime.
“We just don’t have the full picture of rural crime at the moment.”
Initiatives aimed at increasing reporting include encouraging people to call 105 to report non-emergency incidents, and the Rural Lookout app that is being trialled in the North Canterbury districts of Waimakariri and Hurunui.
Ellis, who stepped into the rural police manager’s position in late January, is determined it won’t be a desk-bound job. She intends visiting rural police stations and communities to get a feel for what is happening out there.
“I can’t just be the name at the end of an email or the voice at the end of the phone … I have to be out there and absolutely show the flag.
“I don’t have any direct reports, so it’s about influence and leadership.”
Ellis moved to NZ more than 30 years ago. Before joining the police she ran a loss-prevention business, a job that enabled her to meet a lot of police officers.
“I was encouraged to join police and I haven’t looked back since,” she said.
She has had a variety of roles in her 30-year police career, including a 12-month stint in the Solomon Islands in 2014.
Ellis has not previously worked in rural areas, but has lived rurally and said she is well aware of some of the issues facing those communities.
“I’m keen to get into the rural space boots and all, so to speak.”
