Frustrated PM accuses ACT of inciting crime

Thursday 31 Mar 2005
Rodney Hide
Press Releases -- Crime & Justice

ACT Leader Rodney Hide today said the Prime Minister's savage attack on ACT for simply uncovering the increasing level of lawlessness in New Zealand is a reflection of her own frustration.

"First she attacked Sergeant Fogarty of the Papakura Police Station for writing to a South Auckland dairy owner saying limited resources prevented police from investigating his complaint of constant thieving. Now, she's accusing ACT of providing `an incentive for people to commit crime' because ACT has proven that under Labour too many thugs are getting away with too much.

"Labour keeps telling us that the police have all the resources they need and crime is down. The truth is in South Auckland police can only manage `band-aid policing', where only the most serious and vicious crimes get their full attention. ACT believes in adopting a zero tolerance policy to crime, active policing, and better resourcing.

"Sergeant Fogarty and other police leaders would be in a better position to investigate crime if the police weren't pressured to collect so much revenue from traffic infringements. It's outrageous that in the past four years in the Counties/Manukau Police District alone the number of traffic tickets issued has risen from 4,000 to 17,000.

"Labour is running to catch up and mop up for its bumbling Police Minister. Labour's learning the hard way that George Hawkins' rose-tinted view on crime in this country, doesn't match reality: Crime pays under Labour.

"The Prime Minister's Office has been in contact with the office of Counties/Manukau District Commander Superintendent Steve Shortland since I revealed earlier in the week the scandalous number of unallocated cases. Since then hundreds of unallocated cases have been dumped on detectives' desks, but given how stretched they already are, there's no chance of these cases ever being investigated.

"Helen Clark's savageness on any whistleblowers is a real admission that things are far from well in George Hawkins portfolio," said Mr Hide.

Ends

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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