A video of armed police pulling over a man in Hamilton has sparked concern about the necessity for the new response teams.
A member of the public filmed the Armed Response Team pulling over a man they thought was armed and it's raising questions about what their intentions are while out on patrol.
The teams, which were introduced a month ago, are deployed to high-risk areas across the country. They're equipped with Glock pistols and bushfire rifles while patrolling the streets in specialty vehicles.
They're only supposed to be used for the most dangerous jobs, but footage of the armed team shows them relaxed while pulling over a silver car in suburban Hamilton.
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"The offender was flagged for carrying or possessing firearms, so they stopped that vehicle," said deputy commissioner John Tim.
However, the man was found unarmed and arrested by the officers.
"We've always said they would carry out preventative patrolling in high-risk areas," Tim told Newshub.
Yet that's what's concerning the public and politicians who live in those neighbourhoods - including those involved in investigating how to make the justice system safer.
Former National MP Chester Borrows wonders whether more offenders will be armed on the streets as a response.
"Are we going to see that more and more, [is that] going to become routine and what effect is that going to have on the population? Particularly the population people are at risk from," Burrows told Newshub.
Whether these highly armed police teams become permanent on New Zealand streets won't be known until the end of their six-month trial.
But overseas research has found that similar militarized police units roving the streets have been ineffective in decreasing crime and protecting police and may actually weaken the public's image of the police force.
One thing's for sure armed police on the street are now normal in some New Zealand neighbourhoods.
Newshub.
