New Brighton police station not closing, despite rumours

The New Brighton police station is not closing, in spite of rumours circulating on social media.

Senior Sergeant Jim Currie said it was just the front counter of the station that was closed, not the station itself.

He said the counter closure was due to the officer who ran it becoming sick and, with staffing shortages due to the protest in Wellington, it was difficult finding cover.

A post on a New Brighton Facebook page last week stated that the station was closed indefinitely, prompting comments from residents’ sharing their frustration.

“It’s just the front counter that’s closed for an unknown period of time while the officer is recovering from illness,” Currie said.

“I’m not sure how long that’s going to take but we’re also looking at other alternatives to get it open as soon as we can.”

The front counter closed just before Christmas and Currie said the rumour was an example of how social media can spread misinformation.

“Social media misinformation can spread rapidly without actually asking the people that know what’s going on,” he said.

“We’re working to get the station front counter open as soon as we can but we’ve got to work around other operational contingencies in the meantime and we will endeavour to get it open as soon as we can for the public.”