Councils are just looking for more work.
Policing isn’t a job for local authorities, according to Annabel Young MP.
“Police work is a core task of central government. It would be criminal to break up the Police into small units that the
Local authorities could control.”
“Local Councils are under the gun because of ridiculous rate rises and they are looking to Police work as a way of
justifying their existence. Councils are looking for work so that they can justify their size and existence.”
“There is no evidence that local authorities have any skills to run the Police. Criminals don’t stick to Council
boundaries. Recent statements by elected Councilors suggest that policing is simply a matter of the occasional street
patrol. If the Councils took over policing, street patrols might be all we get.”
Ms Young is concerned that New York policing styles are being suggested as models for New Zealand. “A recent BBC
programme showed that the New York style policing didn’t work well in the long term. It led to more corruption and more
crime. We should learn from the mistakes in New York, not just copy them.”
ENDS