Law & Order
The coalition Government came to office promising to strive towards adding 1800 new police, a commitment to focus on combating organised crime and drugs, to increase Community Law Centre funding, set up a Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCR), and investigate a volunteer rural constabulary programme.
So has it met its law and order targets?
So far it has been a mixed bag and, when it comes to police numbers, it depends on whose interpretation you believe.
Until recently, it looked like it would not meet this key objective for 1800 police but now it seems the goalposts have been shifted, with the Government now saying the figure was in relation to newly trained recruits and not a net gain, which Police Minister Stuart Nash has been promising police. The recruit "goal" now looks set to be ticked off after a police graduation in November.
A focus on combating organised crime and drugs appeared to be trudging along but then gangs and meth emerged as big issues and catapulted the Government into taking more action. The police minister is now bringing proposals to Cabinet for a new law to give police powers to tackle organised crime and deal with gang kingpins, who have heightened the meth problem in New Zealand.
The Government also committed 700 of the 1800 new police to work in serious and organised crime. According to police figures, 143 FTEs have gone into these roles. However, it can take a couple of years for new recruits to go through the training process, so these figures are likely to continue to increase.
It has achieved its promise to increase Community Law Centre funding, which saw a 20 per cent boost last year. This year the Government locked that increase in permanently and, in Budget 2019, locked in further funding of $8.72 million over the next Budget period, bringing the total annual funding to Community Law Centres to $13.26m.
The volunteer rural constabulary programme has been scrapped after being seen as risky and "policing on the cheap". Labour was obliged to investigate the idea as part of their coalition deal with NZ First.
