Labour Abandons Police

ACT New Zealand Police Spokesman Dr Muriel Newman, who has slammed Police Minister George Hawkins and his Labour colleagues for misleading the public about cracking down on methamphetamine crime, today accused them of abandoning police after reports that police have had to take matters into their own hands to fight this epidemic.

"Wellington police have had to resort to dipping into their operational budget in order to establish dedicated methamphetamine response teams, because Government funding is taking too long to be implemented," Dr Newman said.

"This is totally unacceptable. The meth crisis is damaging our country now. Communities are crying out for action now. Police need funding and resources now - Labour has promised they will have it next year.

"Is it any wonder that police - faced with a rising drug epidemic that they have long warned they cannot cope with - are now taking matters into their own hands, rather than wait for the feet-dragging Labour Government to come to the party?

"This move, however, is a matter of robbing Peter to pay Paul - while police now have the funding to establish their meth teams, five frontline police positions will have to be temporarily scrapped.

"This is not good enough. A core role of any government is the maintenance of law and order. I urge the Labour Government to fast track funding for the meth response teams now, so that police have the tools to do their job, not just select parts of it," Dr Newman said.

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