The sight of police on our streets provides comfort to most people.
As crime statistics creep up, more police are needed to solve the crimes.
After it was revealed police were not attending every burglary complaint, Police Minister Judith Collins told police they had to attend every incident, prompting calls for recruiting more men and women in uniform to cope with an increasing workload.
National is usually the party with law and order at the heart of its very existence, but last week Labour and New Zealand First stole its thunder.
Labour leader Andrew Little pledged to put 1000 extra police on the beat in his government’s first term to reverse a surge in crime.
The extra cost of the policy, once fully implemented, will be $180 million a year.
The New Zealand Police Association says the ball is now in the Government’s court.
NZ First leader Winston Peters plans to have an extra 1800 on the beat and will roll out and trial a rural police support scheme to combat crime in under-resourced rural parts of the country.
He claims the Government has not increased police resources in line with population growth.
The Government has hinted at increasing police numbers without anything definite on the table.
It is expected an increased number of police on the street will be part of any National Party election campaign.
So are Labour and NZ First using the police as political tools?
Most certainly.
The two leaders used the association annual conference to push their election agendas.
Mr Peters, to give him credit, did manage to have police numbers increased when he was deputy prime minister in a National-led coalition government.
And he is the most likely politician to have the say on police numbers after the election, if he is in a position to anoint any new government.
Police Association outgoing president Greg O’Connor warned dozens of new recruits wanting to join the Head Hunters are travelling to Auckland each month.
The growth of the gang — one of the country’s largest — showed poor efforts to clamp down on organised crime and gangs nationwide, Mr O’Connor said.
Their numbers have gone from 135 to 275 patched and prospects in just the last two years. It sounds like their training budget is better than the police’s.
Ms Collins rejected efforts around organised crime and gangs had slipped.
She did not dispute Mr O’Connor’s figures but disagreed police are not working hard to reduce gang activity.
New Zealand’s population grew by 97,300 in the year to June 30, to 4.7 million and with more people comes more crime.
Recent instances of violence in New Zealand show this country is not immune from the worst society offers.
Using the policing as point-scoring a year out from the election makes sense for the Opposition parties but it is not sound policy.
The resourcing of the police is one of the most important issues New Zealand currently faces.
Investigations of crime in New Zealand need to receive priority in every case.
Burglaries can often lead to more serious crimes, some of them spur of the moment but deadly in many cases.
People need to feel safe.
If more police are needed, the government of the day needs to make its decisions in light of the facts in front of it, not from the pressure associated with an election campaign.
Ms Collins is an ardent supporter of the police and must be aware of the issues.
It has been obvious to most people police are working harder, working longer hours and are being stretched beyond what is regarded as a reasonable shift on duty.
Police have been brought in from overseas but it is time to start training more young New Zealanders willing to serve their community.
