Moscow, Apr 17 (UNI) New Zealand's terror threat level has been downgraded to medium following a terror attack in Christchurch, local media reported.
Medium is defined as "a terrorist attack is assessed as feasible and could well occur." It is higher than it was before the March 15 attack, Stuff news reported.
The terror attack on two mosques in Christchurch killed 50 people and injured 50 others.
"While the threat level has been revised to medium, and there is no current specific threat agencies are responding to, people will continue to notice a clear police presence at public events," New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was quoted as saying by Stuff.
The terror threat level was lifted to "high" for the first time in the country's history, in the immediate aftermath of the attack, which saw 50 worshipping Muslims gunned down mid-prayer, at two Christchurch mosques.
The threat level is reviewed constantly, by a multi-agency group called the Combined Threat Assessment Group. That group has decided the risk has subsided, however, there is still a higher-than-normal possibility of another attack occurring.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said New Zealanders' safety was the "highest priority".
"Government organisations, including police, are required to assess their own security settings to ensure they were appropriate when there's a change to the National Terrorism Threat Level and they will make operational decisions accordingly." she said adding that there remained an "extensive cross-agency response to counter any potential threats", going on behind the scenes.
"A number of agencies, including the police and NZSIS, continue to work hard to understand, mitigate and manage threats and I am receiving regular briefings on that work," she said.
She asserted that New Zealanders should go about their daily lives as normal, but remain vigilant. If you see something suspicious or behaviour that concerns you, then speak up and call the police.
The which decided New Zealand's threat level is made up experts from the two spy agencies - the Security Intelligence Service and Government Communications Security Bureau - the New Zealand Defence Force, the Civil Aviation Authority, Police, Corrections and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush said the threat level downgrade meant most frontline officers would no longer need to be armed.
"I have previously stated that police would reassess its current position regarding the arming of frontline staff based on our risk environment, with the threat level being one of the factors in our assessment. Generally, this means frontline staff will transition back to our normal approach regarding carriage and access to firearms.You may still see some frontline staff continue to carry firearms on a case by case basis, if particular circumstances necessitate this approach.", Bush said.
The "phased transition" back to the original policy would focus on assessments of specific locations and events, Bush said.
"We will still maintain our tactical capability to respond to incidents as required. However, the public can now expect to see fewer police officers routinely carrying firearms. I stress that if you do see a police officer carrying a firearm, it does not mean there is a specific threat to the public. I reiterate that there was never any intention for the routine carriage of firearms to continue indefinitely." Bush added.
Police had consulted with mosques and Islamic centres about ongoing security measures, but details of those discussions would be kept private.
The public should remain vigilant, and report any suspicious or concerning behaviour to Police.
Police Association president Chris Cahill said police staff would be reassured by a lowering of the threat level.
"It will be welcome that there's no specific ongoing threat. Even though everyone will have to remain vigilant, the environment feels safer. Clearly there's a large number of police officers feel they should be generally armed at all times, and we will be talking to police now the environment has settled down as to what has changed after Christchurch, that may influence the police position on that.", he said.
The association's view was that officers should generally be armed.
UNI XC JAL 0908