New Zealand police are set to become involved long term in improving the skills of police in Tonga.
This comes after the New Zealand police minister Annette King made a short trip to Tonga to meet the large contingent of officers assisting investigations into the riot two weeks ago.
She says in discussions with the government and the police commander the possibility was raised of New Zealand police providing training to raise the skills of local officers.
Ms King says Tonga wants a closer liaison between its police and the Tongan people, and the New Zealand community policing model appeals to them.
"They know that the policing does rely on the good will of the people. You can't police unless the people let you police and we have got a very good international reputation for our community policing and they are very keen to look at our model and how we could assist them with theirs."
