Power Simon: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Power Simon: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:631;Page:2912] 
12.  
SIMON POWER (National—Rangitikei) 
 to the  
Minister of Police 
: Does she stand by her statement to the House on 8 December 2005 that “we will recruit another 1000 sworn front-line police” and does she mean that there will be 1000 more sworn police on the streets by the end of this term on top of the current 7657 sworn front-line officers? 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Minister of Police) 
: 
 I stand by my statement. In line with our supply and confidence agreement with New Zealand First this Government is committed to providing all the resources needed over the next three Budgets to recruit an extra 1000 front-line staff 250 non-sworn staff and all the infrastructure to support these extra 1250 police. The training schedule at the Royal New Zealand Police College has been drawn up to cater for all these extra recruits as well as to have the normal recruiting and training programmes to cope with attrition. 
Simon Power 
: Is it not true that the Government will not reach its target when in the year to 30 April the police have lost 379 staff—with a 22 percent increase in resignations and a near doubling in the number of retirees—meaning a net increase of only 130 more staff than at this time last year? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: No to the first part of the question. I believe we will be able to recruit those numbers. When the member speaks of attrition I tell him that the current attrition rate in the police is around 4.9 percent. Let me remind the member that when National was in Government in the 1990s the rate of attrition was 6.7 percent. Of course the then Government did not have voluntary attrition; it was planning compulsory attrition because it intended to get rid of 500 police as seen in its Martin report. That is how National treated the police when it was last in Government. 
Keith Locke 
: Will the training for the new police recruits be revamped so that recruits do not in any way think it is OK to pepper-spray arrested people who are either handcuffed or otherwise restrained as was the case with Scott MacDonald in Auckland last Thursday and with Simon Oosterman on an anti-GE protest in Rotorua last year? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: I am aware that the police are constantly looking at their training methods protocols and policies. I am also aware that the commissioner is very interested in the current protocols for the use of pepper spray and is already looking at them. 
Simon Power 
: How can the Minister be sure the Government will reach its target when at the current rate of attrition of 4.9 percent the 438 recruits who will be trained between now and October will yield a net gain of only 42 sworn officers once resignations and retirements are taken into account? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: I can be reassured by the police because they have informed me that their active recruiting campaign starts in July. They have not actually started an active recruiting campaign. Leaving that point to one side I can tell the member that out of his own region the police have managed to recruit 50 people and that was without that member’s help. Maybe if he did a bit more they could have a few more. 
Simon Power 
: Is it not true that the Police Association estimated that 2500 recruits would be needed to be trained in order to meet the target of 1000 new sworn police by the end of this term? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: I know that the Police Association has accepted that all efforts will be made to recruit 1000 extra police. In terms of the additional numbers we will need to train that will depend on the rate of attrition. I am very pleased it is nowhere near the rate it was under the National Government. I have a lot of confidence in the ability of the police to get out and recruit. I know the member would like the recruitment campaign to fail but I think most New Zealanders want it to succeed. 
Simon Power 
: How can she be sure that the Government will reach its target when the average number of inquiries to the 0800 NEWCOPS line has declined by 22 percent since 2003 and when the number of applicants accepting a place at the Police College has declined by 20 percent since 2002? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: The member likes to quote figures from the 0800 NEWCOPS line. In 2003 there were 7707 inquiries. The number dropped to 5442 then went up to 6630—and that was before we even started a recruitment campaign. The fact is that one does not have to ring 0800 NEWCOPS in order to be recruited; the police can recruit in many different ways. I am going to put my faith in the police’s ability to be able to recruit not in that member’s wanting them to fail and going around New Zealand saying: “They’re not going to make it. They’re not going to be able to do it.” I believe that the police have a will to do it and this Government certainly has. 
Simon Power 
: Can she confirm that 51 out of the 76 UK police officers recruited in 2003 are still employed—an attrition rate of one-third—if so how many of the 100 UK police officers being trained this year does she expect will remain in the force by 2008 given that she has confirmed in responses to written questions that those officers are not required to undergo a minimum period of service? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: Yes I can confirm the figures he has just given the House in terms of the number of UK police who are still in New Zealand. I can confirm the number who have left New Zealand and returned home or gone into other jobs. That is their right. And I can say we have 51 UK police in New Zealand—who have many years of experience—working hard on behalf of New Zealanders and we can be pleased about that. We have 96 UK police officers in training now and I hope many of them stay. But I also know that this is a democracy and they will have the right to leave if they want to. 
Ron Mark 
: Just how good is it for the Minister to start off in this new role with all the resources allocated to her portfolio courtesy of such a brilliant supply and confidence agreement—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Would the member just ask his question and he is to ask it in silence please. 
Ron Mark 
: Just how good is it for the Minister to start off in this role as Minister of Police with such a supply and confidence agreement behind her—that gives her the resources to recruit not only 1000 extra uniformed police but another 250 non-sworn police complete with all the staffing equipment and resources they need to use in order to make New Zealand a safer place—and why would anyone in the Opposition want to continue to run down and demean such a brilliant position and policy for this country? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: I have to say that it is about as good as it can get and I cannot imagine why those whingeing snivelling National Opposition members would want to go around trying to bag a really good policy. I suppose one could say it is a bit of green-eyed jealousy because they never got to do it.