More police needed

New Zealand has been lagging far behind in the number of police officers we have committed to the front line.

The country desperately needs more police.

The Prime Minister says he might adjust police numbers depending on the population - well it is under National that the population has been going up rapidly.

The police are stretched.

It’s showing up dramatically in Northland but deploying 12 police from Auckland stations to handle the backlog is just another band aid.

Criminals are having a great old time.

Burglars have a 97 per cent chance of getting away with their criminal activity; we have a P scourge; Kaitaia has blazed in headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Which town wants to be known as the murder capital of New Zealand when you’re living in such a wonderful environment with the wonders of the great outdoors on your doorstep?

We have police stations all over the north that have become ‘ghost stations’.

I checked under the Official Information Act and found at the peak of the holiday season last December and January with thousands flocking to the area, of Northland’s 22 stations including Whangarei, only seven had more than a single officer on continuous duty over four consecutive Fridays and Saturdays.

We learned also that since the National government came to power in 2008, reported criminal offences have leapt 66 per cent from 11,593 to over 19,274 last year.

But arrests over the same period have gone down from 3144 to 2735.

The government can massage the figures all they want, but these statistics give the public the true picture.

We just cannot go on with the current levels of lawlessness.

A serious increase in police numbers will be a bottom line in any possible negotiations we might have in forming the next government.

Winston Peters

Northland MP

‘‘The police are stretched. It's showing up dramatically in Northland but deploying 12 police from Auckland stations to handle the backlog is just another band aid. ’’