The Police Review must be immediately cancelled, or the public will bear more than a financial cost from the INCIS debacle, Labour police spokesperson George Hawkins said today.

"The Police do not have the information technology they were promised. To carry on with sacking police staff would be a travesty and seriously reduce the ability to fight crime.

"Despite the protestations of the Government, INCIS and the cost-cutting Police Review are inextricably linked. Treasury documents obtained by Labour in June this year show that the Police Review was expected to provide $23 million a year for "INCIS repayments."

"The Police Review never made sense. It was all about saving money, rather than improving policing. Just last week Treasurer Bill English admitted that the overall Police budget is being cut, because of expected savings from the Police Review.

"The expected efficiency gains from INCIS are not going to eventuate. The Government has partially acknowledged this by calling a halt to the madness of sacking non-sworn staff. But 195 non-sworn staff have already gone. Front-line police who want to be out catching crooks have been turned into typists.

"Experienced senior police officers are still being made redundant. It's madness. The public is rightly outraged by proposals such as halving the Wellington CIB unit, removing 11 sworn officers from Levin and similar cuts in Wairoa, Gisborne, Rotorua, Christchurch and many other centres.

"INCIS and the Police Review were supposed to offer a new way of doing police business. There is no new way. The Police Review must stop immediately."

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