In March 2023, the New Zealand Police announced the national rollout of its new Tactical Response Model (TRM)—a policing method that aims to maximize the safety of staff on the front line of policing. Importantly, the new model preserves the organization’s status as a generally unarmed police service.

The TRM is a safety system that brings together training, equipment, deployment, intelligence, and processes in a new way. It has been informed by input from frontline staff and detailed consultation with the community.

This new model was born from the tragedy of the murder of a young police officer on duty. This type of incident is rare in New Zealand, but one death was enough to spark a significant root-and-branch review of the organization’s response capability.