Armed offenders are set to swarm Cromwell but there is no cause for alarm - it is a training exercise.

The exercise will take place tomorrow afternoon at Cromwell College and the racetrack at Ripponvale Rd. 

Sergeant Tyron Wall of the Community Beat Team said approximately 35 police personnel from Dunedin and Invercargill would be arriving in town, but said the community should not be alarmed.

Sgt Wall said he would be supervising an ‘Active Armed Offender exercise’ at the college, and there would be multiple role players involved, including a large portion of pupils and staff.

“There will be lots of police vehicles in town with most dressed in black carrying tactical equipment,” a post on the college Facebook page said.

Two exercises would run concurrently with each other, with one at the college and a different scenario exercise over at the horse racetrack off Ripponvale Road. 

Police members would be moving between both venues at the start and completion of the exercises at 4pm and 7pm.

“My aim is to keep community impact to a minimum and for the community of Cromwell to be fairly informed of the exercise and not to be concerned with seeing lots of police vehicles in town along with police members dressed in black carrying tactical equipment.”

Firearms would be visible and carried by police staff, but no live ammunition would be used in any of the scenarios.  

Sgt Wall said there would be police training signage outside the college while the exercise was taking place and police tape, and cones would likely cordon off some areas of the school. 

“There will also be police training staff in high vis vests while the training scenario takes place.”   

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