Hon Anne Tolley
Minister of Police

15 March 2013 Media Statement
Labour need to leave our Police alone

Police Minister Anne Tolley says Labour need to stop using Police as a political football, and let them get on with the job of reducing and preventing crime.

"Police are working smarter and better, with the right people in the right places at the right time to prevent crime from taking place," says Mrs Tolley.

"We are seeing fantastic results. Crime rates have fallen for two years in a row and are now at a thirty year low.

"This is hard for Labour to swallow. They would rather criticise and scaremonger over every change the Police make, rather than applaud them for trying to deliver a better service and to keep our communities safe.

"It shows how out of touch Labour is with the Police and the public.

"It is not for politicians to tell Police how to operate or where to deploy staff. Police are the experts. I trust them to make the right decisions, and their track record under the National-led Government is excellent.

"We have delivered an extra 600 frontline police officers, Police foot patrols are up 70 per cent, and the roll out of smartphones and tablets will see over half a million extra frontline police hours reinvested in crime prevention every year.

"Budget funding for Police has been maintained, and repeated attempts from Labour to claim otherwise are cheap and plain wrong."

© Scoop Media

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