8 December 2005

1000 Extra Police All Sworn - A Great Message For Frontline Police Feeling The Pressure Over Christmas

"Police everywhere in NZ will be buoyed by the Government's clear commitment today to 1000 sworn Police officers plus the very necessary additional support staff they will need to do their job. It's a reassuring Christmas message for frontline police feeling the pressure over Christmas, that significant help is on the way," NZ Police Association President, Mr O'Connor said today.

"We are pleased that NZ First and the new Government have been able to clear up any uncertainty around the actual numbers of sworn staff agreed upon and we look forward to the majority of those 1000 sworn police being destined for the frontline," Mr O'Connor said. "The focus must be on re-building our frontline and investigative capability to respond to and investigate offences. These are the critical areas that directly affect our service to the public."

"The Association been stressing the need for more frontline police for sometime, to build and maintain public confidence and meet their understandably high expectations of service. We see the commitment today as a real step towards the new Government's pledge to achieve sworn police to population ratios comparable with that of Australia by 2010," said Mr O'Connor.

"We understand that there is currently difficulty recruiting Police, however NSW Police, operating in a similar tight job market as New Zealand, has over 4000 people on their recruitment list waiting to join," said Mr O'Connor.

"The Police Association are confident that New Zealand can find the 1000 new police, if we look after the police we have now. The best recruiters are existing police officers and if they feel well paid, well resourced and appreciated for the work they do, they will attract and recruit good people into Police."

ENDS

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