Surge in police on $140k salaries
The number of police staff earning more than $140,000 in the Central District almost tripled in the past year.
The increase in top salaries coincides with a period when a stretched police budget and frontline staff shortages around the country have been labelled a “crisis” by the police's representative body.
Poli c e r emuneration figures obtained by the
reveal the number of Central District staff paid in excess of $140,000 rose from 16 to 44 between the 2015 and 2016 financial years.
There are now more pol i c e s t af f earning above $100,000 (341) in the Central District than there are earning l ess t han $80,000 (285).
In 2015, three Central District s t af f earned above $160,000. Last year, 10 staff earned in excess of this figure. The Cent r al Poli c e Distri c t c overs Whanganui, Taranaki and Manawatu. Whanganui MP Chester Borrows said he didn't care how much pol i c e were paid. “I care whether t hey t urn up to jobs,” Mr Borrows said. “I don't give a stuff what rank t hey are if they’re prepared to at t end t he jobs . . . I've got a bi g i s s ue if they’re all bosses s i t t i ng behind
desks and no one’s out on the street.”
Mr Borrows said he was concerned rural police were being moved to urban areas and said he didn’t think they were in touch with smaller communities.
“If you are a complainant living in Waverley or Stratford or Opunake and you’ve got an urgent matter, but all the staff likely to attend live in New Plymouth or Whanganui, then your ‘ golden hour’ is lost, and that’s my big concern.”
The golden hour is a term given to the immediate period after a crime is reported, when the chances of identifying culprit are highest.
Mr Borrows said police have had a “huge impact on crime” recently.
“The police are more highly paid, there are more of them and they are better resourced than they have ever been before ... Crime’s fallen through the floor pretty much.”
Police deputy chief executive for people Kaye Ryan did not specifically address the Central District remuneration figures, but said in a written response to the that change in remuneration figures was due to several factors.
“The dollar figures should not a be read as the actual salary range of employees,” she said.
Ms Ryan said remuneration levels were affected by an annual 2 per cent pay increase for most police staff as per the collective agreement and a holiday pay remediation project which resulted in payments to some staff.
Ms Ryan also said there was one extra scheduled fortnightly payday in 2015-16 due to the dates involved, which resulted in annual salaries being around 4 per cent higher.
An article in the Police Association’s December 2016 magazine entitled
said: “The con- stant pressure of running a frontline section on minimum numbers in provincial areas is creating risks for staff.
“In Central District, some vacancies are not being filled and the reduction of one-, twoand three-person stations means there is no dedicated cover for some areas . . . [This] stretches their resources and means backup can be up to half an hour away.”
Nationwide, 39 per cent more police staff were paid more than $100,000 in 2016.
Another 1286 police staff received six figures in 2016, rising from a headcount of 3307 to 4593.