Andrew Dickens Afternoons

For the third Friday in a row tears have been shed as the nation mourns a crime than still amazes us happened here. The last fortnight has been incredible with each day packed with more and more to digest. The pace has been hectic. Of course we’ve seen that pace affect Winston Peters. It’s also an incredible feat of emotional endurance by our Prime Minister.But the people I most want to reach out to today are our police force. My producer and I are hearing stories of how this fortnight has stretched our officers and their families. From that first moment a fortnight ago the pressure was on and it would have been the hardest hour of the involved police’s life ever.What then happened was the largest police investigation in New Zealand’s history with 500 officers on the case. Police were flown into Christchurch from around the country. Plans were scrapped, families left behind.The security now required nationwide is also taxing on time, energy and capacity. So much so that many of the gatherings in towns to watc