Chester Borrows MP
National Party Police Spokesman

Labour needs to ensure Police investigate serious crime

Labour needs to reassure the public that the Police will treat seriously complaints about crimes of dishonesty, says National's Police spokesman, Chester Borrows.

Mr Borrows is commenting on reports that Police have shown little interest in investigating an alleged fake franchise scam in Auckland that was reported in some media today.

"In the past 18 months we have seen Police send civilian officers to respond to property crimes such as burglaries and car thefts.

"Today we see media reports that Police appear disinterested in fraud offences possibly worth millions of dollars in the Auckland Green Acres case.

"Every New Zealander would expect the Police and the Serious Fraud Office to treat such crime seriously, and if they can't or won't respond, the Police Minister needs to explain why.

"The public will be watching the response of the authorities in this case, given that Labour is disbanding the SFO and replacing it with an organised crime agency that we still know nothing about.

"The Police have an obligation to meet the demands imposed on them.

"They need to show that the new agency will have the capability and capacity to investigate cases of alleged serious dishonesty.

"If the Police can't manage to investigate complaints of serious dishonesty, then it will not engender much confidence in the new setup."

ENDS

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