Collins fudges the truth as police feel threatened
Thursday, 11 November 2010, 4:19 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party
**Collins fudges the truth as police feel threatened
**
Police Minister Judith Collins cynically fudged the truth on at least four occasions when answering questions in Parliament today on frontline police numbers, says Labour Law and Order spokesperson Clayton Cosgrove.
“It’s just as well that fudging the truth is not a crime, because otherwise stressed police staff, many of whom feel she is letting them down, might feel inclined to take the issue up with her,” Clayton Cosgrove said.
“Her arrogance and lack of candour will win her no friends among police who now feel threatened on the frontline.
“When asked questions on how she reconciled her professed support for more police on the beat with the fact that eight out of 12 police districts will have less frontline police by the end of next year compared to the end of June 2009, she instead compared the projected 2011 figures with the end of 2008.
“Her answers distort the truth,” Clayton Cosgrove said. :”Of course, there were fewer frontline police at the end of 2008 than there were at the end of June 2009, because the final year of Labour’s funding for an extra 1000 frontline police was only half completed at the end of 2008.
“By the end of June 2009, however, the last of Labour’s 1000 extra frontline police were in place, and by the end of 2011 numbers will have gone backward from that point in eight of the districts.
“A Police Minister who fudges the truth in this way cannot expect to earn the respect of police who know what it’s like to be on the frontline.
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“Judith Collins has a big reputation among cops all round the country for turning up for photo opportunities, but there’s a big difference between a photo op and what it’s really like,” Clayton Cosgrove said.
“There is also a big difference between telling the truth and fudging the truth. And there is a vast gulf between Labour’s commitment to funding extra police, and National’s pretence that it is doing so.
“Under National almost all the extra police will go into Counties Manukau, the Minister’s home patch. Most of the rest of New Zealand will see fewer police.”
Attached: POLICE RESPONSE TO 2010/11 ESTIMATES EXAMINATION OF VOTE POLICE SUPPLEMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTIONS
2. For each Police district in New Zealand, how many sworn and non-sworn Police staff have been budgeted for 2010/11 and outyears? How does that compare to each of the last three financial years?
The tables below give the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employees as at 30 June for each year 2007 to 2009. They also give the projected values for 30 June 2010, and the budgeted strengths for 30 June 2011 and 31 December 2011. Police currently does not have projected staffing levels beyond this point:
Constabulary FTEs
Actual Estimated Budgeted
30/06/2007 30/06/2008 30/06/2009 30/06/2010 30/06/2011 31/12/2011
Northland 293 325 327 328 323 327
Waitematä 678 715 752 727 733 742
Auckland 681 692 744 714 706 712
Counties/ Manukau 728 751 811 997 1,061 1,068
Waikato 545 569 616 600 593 598
Bay of Plenty 579 601 631 627 619 630
Central 660 687 691 674 669 682
Eastern 367 398 425 402 401 418
Wellington 758 769 837 796 785 791
Tasman 302 301 321 309 310 321
Canterbury 856 876 870 868 885 889
Southern 511 556 587 571 561 565
District Total 6,958 7,240 7,612 7,613 7,646 7,745
ends
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