Police Minister George Hawkins is making a fool of himself with his desperate attempts to do Treasury's bidding and cutback on police spending, National's Police spokesperson Brian Neeson said today.

"Mr Hawkins is seizing on one example of misuse of a police cellphone as justification for penalising the entire police force and making the job of police on the beat even more difficult.

"Taking cellphones off Police is just one in a line of cost cutting ideas that are more about penny pinching than good policing. Making police pay for their training, cancellation of training for new recruits, slower cars, no school visits, a halt in DNA testing, unmanned rural police stations and highway patrol cars parked up to save petrol are just some Mr Hawkins' cost cutting ideas.

"Hapless Hawkins is chopping away at police resources with a devastating impact on police morale. The Police Commissioner's role is becoming superfluous as the Minister meddles in the day-to-day business of the Police. In answer to a question in Parliament today Mr Hawkins replied: 'Not all the ideas are mine'.

"The scrooge approach to cost cutting is now beyond a joke. The ability of the police to do their job properly is being compromised through the direct interference of the Minister.

"The Minister should stop battering the police and cough up with the funding he promised them so they can do their job properly," Mr Neeson said.

Ends

© Scoop Media