They want to send a loud and clear message to Police staff around the country to remind them to take advantage of the services offered by the KAI (Knowledge and Information) team based at the Police College in Porirua.

From arson to arming, money laundering to the mafia, cybercrime to custody management, neighbourhood policing to pandemics, the library is a storehouse of knowledge.

Senior KAI adviser Jo Rusk says that although the library is well used by workgroups such as intel analysts, prevention and youth aid and the Evidence Based Policing Centre, she wants to get the word out to the rest of Police’s 14,000-strong workforce.

Jo and her team already operate a “hot topics” alert service that anyone can sign up for. “We respond to requests for different subject areas and like to let people know what’s new in terms of research and policy,” she says. “We also like to get as much New Zealand material as we can.”

The KAI catalogue has 60,000 records and 6000 registered borrowers. About 700 books are on loan at any given time, with about 180 being issued and dutifully returned each month, even though, Jo says, there are no overdue fines.

Accessing the books, articles, journals and reports can be done from anywhere in the country through the Police intranet. You just need a QID number to register.

Police staff use the service for research projects, academic study and advice on how to search the internet and policing websites.

The library also operates as an archive for material such as former New Zealand Police regulations, wing magazines and training manuals.

Hard copy books, etc, are mailed out around the country, with an average delivery time of two days.

The library has been on the go since 1958, starting in Trentham where police cadets were trained, and moving to the Police College when it opened in 1981.

It’s been through a few downsizings in that time due to space limitations. Recently, the library has been supported by a charitable donor, Detective Sergeant James Withington of the National Organised Crime Group, who has bought and donated several books from different genres.

A new development has been a collection of e-books and next year the KAI team is looking forward to launching a “discovery interface” as a central point for searching all the library’s databases.

For more information, use the Police intranet, nzpintranet/groups/Library, or email
[email protected]

By the numbers

60,000 records

6000 borrowers

700 books on loan at any one time

1300 catalogue searches each month

250 literature searches a year