Police Need Effective Solution
The New Zealand Police Association is correct in saying the Government's plan to use staff from around the country to
solve Auckland's policing shortage is simply a band-aid solution to a long-term problem.
Having police from other regions serve short stints in Auckland is no solution. It will not prove effective; no sooner
have `fill-in' officers learnt the ropes, than their six-week stint is over and they return home. Policing is different
for every area; officers need time to find their feet - meanwhile, experienced staff cannot do their jobs while training
out-of-towners.
Piecemeal solutions such as this, however, appear to be the Government's forte. The Police Association has already said
Auckland's shortages may be a "chronic condition". Long-term problems are solved by long-term solutions - not plugging
gaps and hoping for the best.
Auckland's crisis is a result of Labour's underfunding of core police activities. Having increased funding for traffic
policing by eight percent on a per capita basis, Labour cut funding to fight crime by almost 1.5 percent. As a result,
crime is rising, with Auckland's results being particularly shocking: homicide up 33 per cent, kidnapping and abduction
29 per cent, robbery 18 per cent, minor assault 21 per cent, sexual offences 17.5 per cent and hard drug offences 25 per
cent. Even crime resolution rates, which have been steadily improving for years, have dropped by 2.6 per cent for all
crime.
Yet the Government response is to pour money into traffic policing. While the road toll comes down, and fines collected
go up - almost doubling from 48 million to 94 million since Labour has been the Government - overall crime continues to
rise.
With such funding inequalities, it is little wonder there are police shortages. In the past two years police have lost
more than 1,000 experienced staff - each departure meaning a loss of vital experience and institutional knowledge that
is not easily replaceable. Auckland's low police numbers certainly help explain why the country's largest city's crime
rate is so high.
Crime is in danger of spiralling out of control. Investment in police is the only option, and the Government must form
a strategy to ensure that Auckland's crisis is resolved - without hurting other areas - such as the Southern Region,
whose Police Association Director has voiced concerns the Government's current plan will further stretch already limited
resources.
If the Government wants to lower the crime rate and fulfil its fundamental duty to protect its citizens and their
property - and we must assume that it does - police must be given the mandate and the resources to crack down on crime.
It is only when police are fully equipped to do their job - and not told to simply "make do" - will we begin to see real
results. That cannot be achieved by merely plugging gaps. The Government must ensure gaps do not form in the first
place. If they fail to protect citizens, the politicians in the Beehive have abdicated their first and most fundamental
duty.