Continued support for frontline crime prevention

Police funding in Budget 2013 will continue to be directed at preventing and reducing crime and rolling out new technology to help frontline officers work more effectively and keep communities safe, Police Minister Anne Tolley says.

Baseline operating spending for Police is being maintained at $1.49 billion in 2013/14, as Police remain firmly focused on meeting their Better Public Service target of a reduction in recorded crime of 15 per cent by 2017.

“The National-led Government boosted Police baseline funding by $50 million in 2009, and I’m pleased to say this has been maintained in the subsequent four years, despite challenging economic times,” Mrs Tolley says.

“Our Police are working more effectively and more efficiently, and the focus on frontline crime prevention now means that recorded crimes are at a 24-year low. Crime has fallen 16.7 per cent in the past three years, with reductions in each of those years.

“These results are excellent, and funding in Budget 2013 ensures that Police will continue to stay completely focused on reducing crime even further.

“The current rollout of smartphones and tablets to more than 6,000 frontline officers will allow Police to access and input data while out in communities, rather than having to travel back to stations.

“This will save officers on average 30 minutes per shift, which equates to 520,000 additional frontline police hours every year, or the equivalent of 345 additional frontline staff. This means we will have more Police out on the streets for longer, and in the right place at the right time, to prevent and tackle crime.

“Budget 2013 backs our Police to continue their operational changes, which have already proved to be successful, and which are set to deliver much more for New Zealanders.”