Financial Review Debate — New Zealand Police

I rise to speak in respect of the appropriation for the New Zealand Police. It is with some degree of frustration that I note the level of confidence has continued to fall in respect of the police, especially after the assertions made by the Minister of Police that she would work tirelessly to pull confidence in the organisation back up. It is an organisation in which I worked for many years, and I still hold a great deal of regard for it.

I certainly wish my two wing mates from previous years, Howard Broad and Rob Pope, the warmest congratulations on their new positions as commissioner and deputy commissioner respectively. I was pleased to be able to write to tell them that at least the decision in respect of their appointments was one that I agreed with the Minister on more than 100 percent. I believe that with the background those two men have, particularly as former detectives, they will focus intently on raising the public level of confidence in the police and on the police’s ability to respond and react, to prevent crime, investigate crime in a timely manner, and protect life and property.

It is a worry that although reported crime may be down overall, the most prominent reason for the lessening in reported crime is the level of confidence that New Zealanders have in the ability of the police to investigate reported crime with any hope of success. It is a shame that within the last couple of years we have seen such a large number of high-profile incidents where the police have been hampered, for one reason or another, from investigating them in a timely manner. There were problems around the communications centre, which we hope have now been fixed or are on the road to being fixed. The truth is, of course, that the police were asking for further resources for the communications centre for some time before they ever saw any progress in relation to that.

People have a perception about crime. When I campaigned at the last election, it was a shame to knock on doors on a sunny Saturday afternoon and hear pensioners unlock three or four locks before they could open the door to speak to me. They were trapped inside their homes by fear. I honestly believe they do not need to be in fear. I think, as many New Zealanders do, that the media have some part to play in response to that situation.

I look forward to seeing the Government come through with its 1,250 new police. I do note with some degree of humour that during the campaign, when we were talking about increasing police numbers, we were told quite emphatically by the then Minister of Police and by local members of Parliament there was no need to increase numbers and the police were completely resourced along the lines they needed to be. But after the pre-election pledges made by the National Party and by New Zealand First, the Government came up with a figure of 250 more community police. Community police definitely have their role, especially in building confidence in the police, but it was not really until after the election and the confidence and supply agreement was made that 1,000 new police were added to the figure of 250.

Even then, there seemed to be some conflict over the pages of the songbook various members of the Government were singing from, because the member Ron Mark told us there were to be 1,000 new front-line police, and the Minister of Police told staff at the Nelson Police Station the figure would be 1,000 new police, including non-sworn as well as sworn officers. She repeated that statement in the House a few days later, but about a week after that it was conceded there would be 1,000 front-line police plus support staff. As a former police officer I am pleased to see that occur, because I believe that the number of front-line staff has been reduced by attrition over time and the police’s ability to respond to incidents has been marginalised, even in my own area.

When I was a police officer working in the Wanganui electorate, the Wanganui Police Station had a sergeant and five officers working 24 hours a day on successive shifts. What happened, of course, was that the number was reduced by attrition. Now we have ended up with the situation where there is a sergeant and two officers working on some days, and I wonder how on earth they can respond—especially at a time when ambulance officers and firefighters, who are the emergency service back-ups for the police in various situations, are not available either because their numbers have been reduced by attrition, as well. In Wanganui City we have lost six police officers and we look forward to seeing them replaced in due course, if it happens.

Can I thank the member for Whanganui for his contribution in the financial review of Vote Police, and—as he knows—I have already congratulated the new Commissioner of Police, Howard Broad. I was interested to learn that the member was in the same wing as both Rob Pope and Howard Broad, and certainly I can be assured of his support for both those two men in their future roles.

I begin by thanking the retired Commissioner of Police Rob Robinson, who picked up the role at a very difficult time, soon after we became the Government, when he needed to address a number of issues. In particular, issues of a historic nature had arisen, and I will not say any more about those at this point, but there were also a number of issues arising from the Martin review of the late 1990s, which saw police resources being removed as the police were asked to pay for the INCIS mistake of the previous National Government. I know that Chester Borrows would have been at the sharp end of those cuts in police numbers back in the 1990s.

I want to say how pleased I am to have the new Commissioner of Police, Howard Broad, in place. I think he will make a very fine commissioner. He has a background of 30 years of policing, including community policing, and of being the district commander in Auckland, where he has had a lot of experience in terms of front-line policing, but also his very reasoned approach to strategy and policy will, I think, be very good going forward.

Rob Pope also has 30 years of experience with the police. I assume that Chester Borrows, if he had stayed in the force, would have had 30 years of experience now, as well. So the member brings to this House those years that he has had in the force, and I was pleased to see today that he was agreeing with comments I was making. Doing that probably got him into trouble with his front bench, but I believe he will perform in an honest manner in this House with the knowledge of policing he has. But I think that Rob Pope, who has 30 years’ experience of policing, has spent many years in the Criminal Investigation Bureau, and who is now responsible for operational matters, will be a good fit with our new commissioner, as will Lyn Provost, who has been reappointed. Lyn Provost’s responsibilities are in the area of resources. I would also like to put on record my thanks to acting commissioner Steve Long, who retires on 7 April, for a very fine police career and for carrying us through the last few months after Rob Robinson retired.

The member expressed a little sorrow, I think, that I have not managed to bring police confidence back up to high levels in the 5 months I have been in the job. I assure the member that I am working very hard on that matter. I am spending my time out on the front line, working with police—

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: And loving it.

—and loving it—and the main thing the police do need is the support and, at times, the accolades they deserve for the job they do on behalf of New Zealanders, day and night. One of the things that really gets to them is to hear only the whingeing and moaning about what they do. They ask where the thanks and the gratitude are for a job most of us would not want to do, because it is a difficult and hard job. I want to put on record my thanks for the work the New Zealand Police do. We have one of the finest police forces in the world. We are the envy of many countries because of the integrity of our police and because we are a country that is pretty much free of corruption within our police—something that even across the Tasman they sometimes have struggled with. So I want to encourage our police. I want to help in terms of the confidence that they need to engender in the public and I think they are well on the way to doing that.

I am very pleased to work with New Zealand First in relation to the 1,000 extra sworn police, and I need to say to the member for Whanganui that there was no dispute between New Zealand First and the Government around the numbers of new police. What we had to work out was what would support 1,000 sworn police, because—as the member will know—when we bring in extra police but we do not back them up with non-sworn police, we put huge pressure on those on the front line. If we do not give them cars, accommodation, or even handcuffs, we put huge pressure on the police to be able to perform. One of the big problems in the early 1990s, when John Banks became the Minister of Police, was that he brought in extra police all right, but none of the resources to go with the police to enable them to carry out their role—and the police lived with that situation for years, trying to overcome that shortfall in financing.

So I am pleased to say that, through the good work of New Zealand First members, who have worked with the Government in a very constructive manner, we will have 1,000 more sworn police in New Zealand, plus 250 non-sworn police to back them up, and I can assure the member that that will happen. That promise was made; that promise will be undertaken.

In conclusion I say that I am very pleased with the work of the New Zealand Police, but they can always do better. They can always do better, and they want to do better. Of course, we would want to have as little crime as possible, but what really concerns me when I look at crime statistics is that the big increase in violent crime is coming from family violence—domestic violence. That is an issue for all of us to face. Judge Boshier said that this is a scourge of our society that requires the response of the whole community. It does not require a police officer outside the door of every home; it requires the collective responsibility of New Zealanders. This is a crime that we do not have to have. It is happening in our homes and to our families, and there needs to be a greater response from all of us. I support the work of the police. They are doing very good work with other agencies in addressing family violence.

I do not have time now to go through all the work that is being done in an area like Counties-Manukau, but the police are really working hard there, knowing that family violence is one of the biggest issues they have in terms of reported crime.

So I thank the member for his contribution, and I am very pleased with the work the Law and Order Committee did in terms of its financial review of Vote Police.

Report noted.

Ministry of Economic Development