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.
