A man who 'didn't want to get caught' leaned out of his car spraying police with a semi-automatic weapon during a chase in Tauranga.

The man shot dead by police last night in Tauranga fired at officers up to 20 times before officers returned fire.

The Police Health Plan, which is administered by the Police Welfare Fund, has been awarded the Consumer NZ People’s Choice Award for 2019.

Police targeting gangs in the deep south have made 17 arrests and recovered a "significant amount" of stolen goods since December.

Commissioner of Police Mike Bush has announced two trials - a new self-service option called Police Connect and a digital person named Ella.

Since last weekend there have been three firearms incidents in the Manawatu region linked to gangs as gang tension grows around the country.