Sabin Mike: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Sabin Mike: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 14 August 2012. Volume:682;Page:4356. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
MIKE SABIN (National—Northland) 
: 
 I am very pleased to take a call on this particular aspect of this estimates debate being a former police officer. Can I firstly start off by commending the work of the New Zealand Police led by a very constructive and front line - focused commander in Peter Marshall. It is my view that the New Zealand Police indeed set the standard—set the bar—for policing globally. This country can feel very well served by the men and women of the New Zealand Police out there on a daily basis often putting their lives on the line to make our communities a safer place. I just want to acknowledge the men and women of the New Zealand Police in that regard. 
It is fair to say that 2011 has been another successful year for the New Zealand Police with a 4.8 percent reduction in recorded crime. We now have recorded crime at a 15-year low. I can certainly recall as a police officer that I sometimes did wonder what sort of smoke and mirrors made up some of the statistics but I think it is very fair to say that what we are really looking for is a trend. The trend has been a consistent downward trending in recorded crime. That means there are fewer victims there is less harm in our communities there is less cost to our communities and most important we can go about our business in our communities feeling safer. That in some part will be a result of the some 600 more front-line police that the New Zealand public can now feel assured in having in their service but also I believe much of the credit must go to the Prevention First approach which has been adopted since this National-led Government came into office. 
Indeed some very positive changes have been made in the executive of the New Zealand Police and it has embraced the notion that preventing the problem is going to be a lot easier than coming along afterwards and trying to arrest your way out of it. I want to speak to that to some extent and I will come back to that but certainly addressing drivers of crime is fundamental in reducing overall crime. 
The investment that has been made by the New Zealand Police and this Government is certainly showing the right trending reflecting this approach. Of course this approach runs hand in hand with the reforms right across the justice and corrections sector. It is fair to say that the police themselves do not stand alone in ensuring that our communities are safer places. For example in justice—if I can just reflect for a moment—we have brought in maximum jail sentences with no parole for the worst offenders. There are tougher sentences for people who commit crimes against children which is something I know that right across this House we all share a great deal of concern about and it is fair to say that we are all committed to making a difference to those innocent young child victims. 
Introducing stronger bail laws is part of the programme in this space as is reversing the burden of proof for some of the most serious offences. As a former serving police officer I can honestly say that that will provide a position where those who often walk free from a court and go on to commit offences while on bail will be denied that opportunity. We do not have to look too far to see the very tragic examples of where that has happened. So I am very pleased to see that particular bill moving forward. Of course reducing the situations where defendants are bailable as of right does actually encapsulate a number of offences and offenders. When people commit crimes against society I think it is fair to say that the onus first and foremost should actually be on the law-abiding citizens—their safety and protections. So I think there will be some positive changes there also. 
Of course the police and justice sector also serves in the process of safer communities with the service within corrections. It is another area where there has been a significant investment by this Government in turning round what has been to some extent a holding pen for some of this country’s worst offenders who ultimately will be released into society. Our goal must be surely to ensure that they are not going back into the justice system so a lot of effort has been put into having more prisoner education and employment programmes. Drug and alcohol treatment has increased significantly and it will continue to do so. When you consider that certainly around some 85 to 90 percent of offenders will enter the justice and corrections system with a drug and/or alcohol problem this is an investment in preventing reoffending. Of course there are more search powers for our corrections officers and we have fewer positive drug tests and fewer prisoner escapes. 
What we are really talking about here is a pipeline and a set of agencies and professionals serving New Zealanders intrinsically linked and ensuring that our communities are safer. This Government is proud to say that we have put victims at the heart of the justice system and the New Zealand Police certainly is mindful of the prevention work in reducing the number of victims. Ultimately the best crime prevention that can happen is really when it is focused on having fewer victims. 
The $50 levy that this Government introduced has now serviced some 13 new services for victims which is an interesting concept. That money is being put to very good use. 
Victims now have a greater ability to have their say by way of their victim impact statements. I can again reflect on times when victims of crime had their one opportunity to stand up to face their offender and to express their real feelings about how they had been wronged as they went about their lives innocently. The ability for them to do that in an open and unencumbered manner is often the difference between them being able to move on or not so I applaud that. 
Of course the police now have extra powers to enforce on-the-spot protection orders. Some 6000 of those safety orders have been issued since their inception which ultimately means there are fewer victims. 
Our police are really at the sharp end of this pipeline that I have been describing. Their Prevention First approach is really fundamentally what I think has been the game-changer and has led to some of these very impressive statistics in terms of the downward trending. Of course one victim is one too many but we have to be realistic in that regard. The success I believe is a legacy of both Minister Collins and Minister Tolley who has picked up from the very good work being done there. 
I would have to say that Prevention First has not always been the case. I remember back as a police officer who joined in the mid-1990s. With the Doone era—and some interesting dilemmas there—and the introduction of the Clark Government the police very much moved to a commercial model where we were driven by statistics. Theft and burglary were on a significant increase and quite rightly police were aimed at targeting that. Of course a big part of the reason for that was the burgeoning methamphetamine problem which went from virtually nothing to the worst in the world between 1998 and 2003. When you have got a $1000-a-day methamphetamine habit you are going to commit a lot of volume crime. 
I believe that the leadership of the Prime Minister in this space with regard to the methamphetamine strategy and the way in which the New Zealand Police have embraced Prevention First are all very good arguments as to why New Zealand is a safer place today. With our hard-working Ministers an excellent executive within the police and dedicated serving police officers I think we should all be proud of our men in blue. Thank you.