Simon Power National Party Law & Order Spokesman

2 January 2005

Low police confidence an indictment on Labour

National's Law and Order spokesman, Simon Power, says plummeting public confidence in police is the direct result of years of bad management by Labour Ministers.

He is commenting on UMR research which shows that in 1996, 78% of the public rated the police as doing a good job. By 2005, that had fallen to 59%.

"Underfunding of frontline police, the 111 crisis, police revenue gathering, slow response times - all these issues and more have been incredibly badly handled by Labour," says Mr Power.

"The Clark/Peters Government must act urgently to restore public confidence in the police by bolstering resources.

"This poll is an indictment on Helen Clark's Government. They have paid lip service to police resources for six years and now it's coming back to bite them.

"Annette King said when she became Minister that her top priority was to restore confidence in New Zealand police. She has failed.

"National looks forward to seeing Labour front up and explain what they plan to do about this when Parliament resumes," says Mr Power.

ENDS

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