Figures released under the Official Information Act show Dunedin and Invercargill AOS squads have attended 51 call-outs in the first five months of the current financial year.
That compares with 67 call-outs in the year from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016, and 65 in the year before.
Both Dunedin and Invercargill’s squads are averaging more than one call-out a week and between them they are attending almost 2.5 call-outs a week.
The surge was due to the heightened threat posed to police by illegal firearms and methamphetamine use among the criminal fraternity, AOS commander Inspector Kelvin Lloyd told the Otago Daily Times.
"If it continues on the way it has been so far, it will be a record for the number of AOS call-outs," he said.
"The deployment is dictated by the situations that come up in individual jobs. If there’s a need and the risk assessment dictates that we go, then we will go.
"We’ll treat it as more serious until the contrary can be established."
There had been no recent changes to police policy or procedure, but the threat posed by illegal firearms in the hands of criminals was rising.
Insp Lloyd pointed to the theft of military-style semi-automatic rifles and pistols from a Maitland St address in October as one example of dangerous arms ending up in the hands of criminals.
Late last month, police said 23 firearms from that theft were still unaccounted for.
Five firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition were recovered in raids by police.
Also adding to the heightened risk to police officers was increasing methamphetamine use, Insp Lloyd said.
The ODT reported last month Customs had intercepted a record amount of methamphetamine at the border this year, with more than 360kg seized in the first eight months. The surge in call-outs took a toll on squad members, as the teams were part-time members pooled from other policing teams in the Southern district.
The squad numbers had remained stable in recent years despite an increasing need for their deployment.
Insp Lloyd said it was a matter he needed to be mindful of.
"I’m really mindful we are a part-time squad," he said.
"They are deviating from their business-as-usual roles when attending their callout.
"As a manager of the squad, it’s up to me to make sure they are getting rest."
He would not comment on the number of squad members in Dunedin or Invercargill.
There was no rhyme or reason to the demand for AOS turnouts.
"It will be a really good year for me to say we didn’t have to deploy once," he said.
"It’s a pretty high bar to turn the squad out but if there’s a need, as I said before, we will go."
