Association welcomes new Police Minister

The Police Association today congratulated Hon Anne Tolley on her appointment as Minister of Police.

“Anne Tolley is an experienced and able senior minister, and the Association looks forward to working with her to build on the law and order gains of recent years,” Police Association President Greg ’Connor said.

“Thanks to the very strong support and advocacy shown by Ms Tolley’s predecessors, Hon Judith Collins and Hon Annette King, the new Minister inherits a New Zealand Police which is in very good shape, and which she will find is highly efficient. The damage done by budget cuts in the late 90s and early 2000s has largely been repaired, and the public are now starting to reap the benefits, in falling crime, and falling fear of crime.

“Good resourcing allows Police to be smart, innovative and proactive. However, these gains are fragile. As the violence over the weekend in Wellington shows, serious violence can very quickly undermine public confidence in community safety, and this in turn places our international reputation at risk. Police need to be able to deal with such incidents swiftly and effectively, to restore that confidence.

“As the Government continues to focus on limiting public spending, the new Minister will face the challenge of ensuring recent public safety gains are not lost through pressure on Police budgets. We look forward to working with her to build on the gains, and keep Police moving forward over the next three years,” Mr O’Connor said.

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