Police Association invents a recruiting crisis
Police Association invents a recruiting crisis
The Police Minister dismisses claims of a recruiting 'crisis'
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Police
Minister George Hawkins is accusing the police union
of
manufacturing a crisis of recruitment and retention as
a bargaining tool
ahead of the upcoming wage
round.
"The retention rate is at its highest in years and
the level of interest
in joining Police has gone up 50
per cent in the last year.
"Police have assured me there
are more than 200 recruits going through the
system right
now and I can assure New Zealanders that there have
never
been so many sworn police officers as there are
today," said Mr Hawkins.
As at the end of May, there were
7577 sworn staff and 2349 non-sworn staff
in New Zealand
Police. This compares with 7027 and and 1740 staff
when
Labour took office in 1999.
"An additional 265
staff were announced in the latest Budget, meaning
that
Police staffing has increased by over 1400 under
this Government. Over the
same period the crime rate has
fallen by 13.8 per cent.
"The media and the public should
be very wary of repeating unsubstantiated
claims from the
Police Association about a recruitment 'crisis'.
The
Association is trying to create public pressure ahead
of the pay round.
"It is tragic that the Association's
efforts are undermining public
confidence in its own
members. The reality is that New Zealanders are
safer in
their homes, their communities and on their roads than they
have
been in
decades."
ENDS