Cop catch-up welcome but unimaginative

National’s policy of recruiting more cops is the right thing to do, but the Government will need some smarter ideas if it wants to tackle the causes of crime, says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“The increase will almost get us back to the 20.3 sworn officers per 10,000 of population that we had in 2009, but not quite,” said Mr Seymour.

“Figures from the Parliamentary Library show that in 2009 there were 20.2 sworn officers per 10,000 of population, then it started falling. By last year it had fallen to 19.2. With a population projection of 4,865,000 by the end of next year, an extra 880 sworn officers would get us back to 20.0 sworn officers per 10,000 New Zealanders.

“Announcing more cops is the right thing to do, but it is hardly riveting stuff. We have done tough on crime; it is time to get smart on crime. I can’t wait to unveil some more innovative crime policy at ACT’s conference on February 25th.”

ENDS

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