3. Police Resourcing—Numbers and Crime RatesANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterPolice Resourcing—Numbers and Crime Rates3. ANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in the Minister of Police given crime rose by 5.5 percent in the last year?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Absolutely because crime rates have fallen significantly over the term of this National-led Government.Andrew Little: Why have burglaries gone up 17.8 percent and assaults gone up 9 percent in the past year alone?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I cannot give you the exact answer. I do not know all of the reasons but in some cases it will be because of more widespread use of drugs and some people feeding their drugs habit. That would be one reason. There will be many reasons though.Andrew Little: Does he think that burglaries going up 17.8 percent and assaults going up 9 percent has anything to do with the fact that he has failed to increase police numbers in line with a rising population?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: No. There are a variety of different reasons. One of them is that for instance when it comes to domestic violence that has become a topic that is now more widely debated and exposed and there is more reporting going on of domestic violence. So no I do not think that is the case. This is a Government that has put $300 million more into Police budgets just in 2016 alone. The annual budget has gone from $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion. There are hundreds more extra police under a National-led Government and greater use of technology.Andrew Little: Why has he broken his 2007 promise which went like this: improve the ratio of police to population beyond 1:500 from 2009"?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: We have substantially increased the number of police. One of the things that we have been looking at in the time that we have been in Government is to say that of course one way of measuring the number of police is to look at it on a ratio basis but actually I think there are also other ways of looking at it more effectively. For instance when we look at the use of technology—which I think is a far better investment in a lot of ways—we have effectively gained 354 extra police. You can put all of those things in the budget but it is really a sort of a slightly lazy way of thinking things to just dream up a number on the day of a police conference and claim that it is a policy. It is not really a policy is it? [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! Andrew Little: Why when he promised in 2007 to have a 1:500 police ratio does he not have a 1:500 police ratio 8 years on?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Firstly we have been investing considerably more. Secondly there are different ways of measuring these things. Yes there were policies that were taken to the 2008 election—which is quite a number of elections ago—but over time the Government not only is investing more but of course is looking at ways that we will continue to invest. But just dreaming up a number as the member did—the reason that he got coverage on page A7 or A9 of the New Zealand Herald about this figure was because no one actually believes he is going to be in a position to do it anyway.Andrew Little: Why has he spread the police so thin that almost 60 percent of police officers say they cannot deliver on the promises they make to the public?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I am sure the police will always argue that they need more resources but that is equally true of every publicly funded institution—they will always argue that they need more. Under this National-led Government there have been not only 600 more police but 354 additional extra police in the sense that the technology that we have rolled out has allowed them to do that. The Government is funding more for police resources and over time will give them more but I do not actually accept the argument that the police are under-resourced. I accept the argument that over time they can do with more but they have had significant increases in the time we have been the Government.Andrew Little: Why has his Government lost control of crime as it has on housing health education immigration and traffic congestion; and when will he admit that he is out of touch and out of ideas?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: If one looks at total crime in New Zealand since 2011 it is down 15 percent. I accept that in the last year it is up 1.4 percent. There has also been an international trend: in OECD countries crime has gone down a bit and crime has risen a bit but overall it is down 15 percent which is actually pretty similar to Labour's polling since 2008 now that it is down to about 15 percent."