Headline: Cuts to personnel undermine Police efforts
Labour would use scant police resources to bolster the Police force, not undermine it, says Labour’s Police spokesperson Kris Faafoi.
“Police Minister Anne Tolley spent $5.5 million this year culling police personnel- about 60 times more than was spent in 2008/09.
“The number of police severance packages ticked off by Ms Tolley increased from two in 2008/09 to a startling 159 in 2012/13.
“Remaining staff are increasingly fed up, with 51 police personnel resigning on average each month in 2013, up from 14 each month in 2009.
“Police are working their guts out to meet the Minister’s targets, but with fewer officers on the beat, less back office support, and more and more local station closures, times are tough for community policing.
“The gains of restructuring must outweigh the costs. In the past year alone there were 99 fewer frontline police on the beat. In fact, Police staff themselves flagged staffing as the number one issue threatening law and order.
“Labour wouldn’t sit back and see good staff lost in the name of centralisation. We understand the vital role all police personnel play, whether they are in our cities, the provinces, back office or otherwise.
“Relentless belt-tightening for our Police force only makes the job of our frontline officers harder,” Kris Faafoi said.
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