Previous visiting VIPs afforded DPS protection have included Tiger Woods during the 2002 New Zealand Open,[2] and FBI Director Robert Mueller.
The squad is based in the capital Wellington, where the majority of foreign diplomatic missions are.
The DPS routinely carry firearms, in contrast to the regular police which generally do not.
[6] A 1993 report for the U.S. World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems stated DPS officers have access to semi-automatic pistols.
[8] The close proximity of the escort vehicle has caused a few minor nose-to-tail accidents, such as twice in six weeks during 2000,[11] and on Ponsonby Road on 9 December 2005.