The Special Tactics Group (STG) is the full-time

police tactical group Police tactical group (PTG) is the generic term used to refer to highly trained Australian and New Zealand police tactical units that tactically manage and resolve high-risk incidents, including sieges, armed-offender situations and terrorist incid ...

of the New Zealand Police. The STG, originally named the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), was established to respond to high-risk situations which are beyond the scope or capacity of everyday policing. STG officers directly support operational police in incidents, such as sieges, with specialist tactical, negotiation, intelligence, and command support services. Officers are assigned to the STG on a full-time basis with sections based in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

and

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. In 2012, the STG became a police tactical group following the New Zealand government joining

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

’s national counter-terrorism coordination organisation.

History

In 1977, the New Zealand Police formed the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) a part-time national unit to respond to terrorist incidents. Training commenced in July 1977 for selected members of the

Armed Offenders Squad The Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) are specialist part-time units of the New Zealand Police based around the country available to respond to high risk incidents using specialist tactics and equipment. The AOS was established when front-line poli ...

(AOS). A section of the ATS was based in

with smaller sections based in

and

Commissioner of Police A police commissioner is the head of a police department, responsible for overseeing its operations and ensuring the effective enforcement of laws and maintenance of public order. They develop and implement policies, manage budgets, and coordinate ...

John Jamieson sent the group in response to the

Aramoana massacre The Aramoana massacre was a mass shooting that occurred on 13 November 1990 in the small seaside township of Aramoana, northeast of Dunedin, New Zealand. Resident David Gray killed 13 people, including local police Sergeant Stewart Graeme Guthr ...

in 1990. They located gunman David Gray and ended his spree. Group member Stephen Vaughan was shot in the ankle during the final shoot-out. In 1991, the ATS was renamed the Special Tactics Group. The STG was tasked with additional roles. On 1 July 2003, the STG became a full-time group due to changes made by the New Zealand Police in response to worldwide terrorism-related events. In May 2009, the STG was involved in the Napier shootings alongside their colleagues in the

. In March 2019, the STG responded to a

terrorist attack Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war a ...

at two mosques in

providing specialist

first aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with a medical emergency, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery until medical services arrive. First aid is gener ...

to the victims. The STG was coincidentally at a sniping course with international police at Burnham Military Camp in Christchurch and armed operators from Australian police tactical groups also responded to the attack at the Al Noor mosque. In September 2021, two STG operators fatally shot a "

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

-inspired" terrorist following a stabbing attack at a Countdown supermarket in

Role

The STG deals with armed incidents that are beyond the capability of the part-time

, of which they are also members. While the

is trained to cordon or contain high risk situations such as sieges, the Special Tactics Group is trained to resolve them. The group also provides specialist protection to high risk persons and VIPs. The STG is supported during its operations by the Armed Offenders Squad, Police Negotiation Teams and canine units trained for use in situations involving firearms. The group is known to train with

New Zealand Special Air Service The 1st New Zealand Special Air Service Regiment, abbreviated as 1 NZSAS Regt, is the special forces unit of the New Zealand Army, closely modelled on the British Special Air Service (SAS). It was formed on 7 July 1955. It traces its origins to ...

of which little public information is released as well as with Australian

s. The STG has provided specialist armed officers for overseas operations such as the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), working alongside officers from the

Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the principal Federal police, federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government responsible for investigating Crime in Australia, crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth ...

. The STG has deployed to Australia to assist Australian police tactical groups with security at major events including the 2007

APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy , economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Following the success of Association of Southeast Asia ...

meeting in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and the 2014

G20 The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 sovereign countries, the European Union (EU), and the African Union (AU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stabil ...

summit in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. STG have been part of all major security operations in New Zealand including the 1990

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

, the

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1995 The 1995 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the 14th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government, Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand, be ...

, APEC meetings, royal and VIP tours. In 2012, the New Zealand Government entered into Australia's National Counter-Terrorism arrangement forming a co-operation partnership between the countries with the committee that oversees the agreement renamed to the Australia-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee. The STG works closely with No. 3 Squadron of the

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF; ) is the aerial warfare, aerial military service, service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Perm ...

utilising their NH-90 helicopters for both training and operations including with fast roping. The New Zealand Police Air Support Unit also provides the STG with support with their

Bell 429 GlobalRanger The Bell 429 GlobalRanger is a light, twin-engine helicopter developed by Bell Helicopter and Korea Aerospace Industries. The first flight of the prototype took place on February 27, 2007, In 2017–18, the STG "were deployed 84 times".

Requirements

Positions are open to current or past members of the Armed Offenders Squad. Officers must successfully complete the STG four-day selection course and three-week qualification course to gain selection to the unit. In 2007, the first woman passed the selection course.

Equipment

In 2013, the STG was issued with

non-lethal Non-lethal weapons, also called nonlethal weapons, less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than convention ...

40mm XM1006 sponge rounds that are fired from the HK69 grenade launcher. In 2009, two

New Zealand Army The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Mil ...

LAV III The LAV III is the third generation of the LAV (Canada), Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) family of armored personnel carriers built by General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada (GDLS-C), a London, Ontario, based subsidiary of General Dynamics Land ...

light armour vehicles were utilised in response to the Napier shootings. The STG has since conducted training exercises with the LAV III. In 2019, the STG took delivery of three ASC

armoured Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat ...

Toyota Land Cruiser The , also sometimes spelt as LandCruiser, is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. It is Toyota's longest running series of models. , the sales of the Land Cruiser totalled more than 1 ...

References

External links