Tony Ryall
National Police Spokesperson
1st December 2002
1000 police and their families rally in Auckland
The Auckland policing crisis is another example of George Hawkins' bumbling as a Minister, says National Police
spokesman Tony Ryall.
"Strong leadership is needed to arrest plummeting morale and rocketing crime in our largest city.
"When George Hawkins cancelled the recruitment of 240 police officers in early 2001, National told him that huge staff
shortages in Auckland would be the result. He ignored our warnings, and today's record staff shortages and spiralling
crime in Auckland are the result. When was the last time any Aucklander saw an officer walking their street?
"In Auckland you've got a vicious cycle of police leaving, violence rising, so more police leave and more violence goes
unchecked and so on.
"Today's unprecedented rally in Auckland demonstrates the frustration of our professional police officers, and the fear
of their families.
"What's needed is stronger leadership from the top, a focus on staff retention and on entry-level crimes. The million
dollars wasted on the failed recruitment campaign should have gone into encouraging staff to stay in Auckland. Throwing
hundreds of thousands of dollars at a doomed police cadet scheme also needs re-directing.
"This should be a wake-up call to the Government. Mr Hawkins tried to cover up the leaky homes scandal, and he's spent
the past two years trying to cover up the Auckland policing crisis. Today, sworn police officers are blowing the whistle
on Mr Hawkins' incompetence," said Mr Ryall.
Ends