Police Minister Poto Williams is out of touch with her portfolio and clearly has no idea about the level of crime that everyday Kiwis are dealing with out in the real world, National’s Police spokesperson Mark Mitchell says.

“Just this week we’ve seen a man dragged from his car and violently assaulted on the side of the Waikato Expressway by a 60-strong crew of Tribesmen gang members in a disgraceful and cowardly attack. On top of that, six people were injured in a shooting in Sandringham.

“These incidents are emblematic of a huge increase in crime under this Government. Since Labour came to office in 2017, gang membership has increased by over 50 per cent, violent crime has increased over 20 per cent, and assaults are up over 30 per cent.

“Poto Williams constantly tells Parliament and the public that her Government has ‘never been more active in the crackdown on gangs’, yet Kiwis are seeing a deluge of gang crime in their communities.

“When I put to her that a business owner called her efforts to quash gangs ‘delusional’, after his staff member was injured by a stray bullet from a gang brawl, the Minister could only trumpet her same tired line about Labour’s ‘record investment’ in Police.

“The reality is that Labour promised 1,800 new Police by July 2020 and now, 20 months past that deadline, they’ve only delivered 70 per cent of that target.

“The Government is failing to better resource the Police, and failing to make law changes to keep our communities safe.

“A weak Firearms Prohibition Orders Bill has only just made it to select committee after being talked up for years. The only legislation the Government has prioritised is getting rid of the three strikes law – legislation designed to keep our most violent recidivist offenders out of the community, and strongly supported by retail and small business owners and a majority of Kiwis.

“Under this soft on crime Labour Government, crime is skyrocketing, the Police are short of resources and gangs are rapidly gaining control of our streets and our communities. Kiwis urgently need a Government that will keep them safe and stop this crime epidemic in its tracks.”

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