Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says he supports a Covid-19 vaccine mandate for police.
Coster told Breakfast on Friday that data suggests about 90 per cent of police staff are vaccinated, though he predicts the number is higher "because people access vaccines through a range of ways".
"We are working to get that data complete and in the event that there would be a mandate for frontline staff, which remains a conversation, then we will be able to fully understand that picture," he said.
When asked by Breakfast host John Campbell if he supported a mandate for frontline staff, Coster said he did.
"We deal with people in pretty unusual circumstances, including sometimes involuntarily, and sometimes much closer than we would like so we can't control our environment - vaccination's a safety thing."
There are currently vaccine mandates in place in the health and disability sector, Corrections sector and education sector.
"Health and disability, education and correctional work forces are key public service sectors that each face particular and different challenges posed by Covid-19," the Ministry of Health says on its website.
"This may be because they work with populations that either are unable to be vaccinated (education and health), are at increased risk of severe illness from Covid-19 (health and corrections), or where outbreaks have occurred overseas (correctional facilities)."
Workers at the border and in managed isolation and quarantine settings are required to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
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