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Police will soon be able to recover the cost of vetting services, with the Policing (Cost Recovery) Amendment Bill passing its third reading in Parliament.

“The new legislation amends the Policing Act 2008 to enable regulations to be made that allow Police to recover costs for certain policing services that fall within the definition of a ‘demand service’.

Official crime statistics for September 2016 released today, show Police recorded 1,390 more victimisations for the month compared to the same month last year says Police Minister Judith Collins.

For the twelve month period, 30 September 2015 to 30 September 2016, the total number of victimisations increased from 261,748 to 276,098.

There were 6,361 burglary victimisations in September.  In this crime category, there were 72,776 victimisations in the 12 months to September 2016 – a rise of 10,979 (17.8%) from the previous 12 months.

Ministers today welcomed the start of the second Integrated Safety Response (ISR) pilot site in Waikato and announced another $1.4 million in new funding to support the pilot programme.

The ISR pilot involves core agencies and specialist family violence NGOs working together as a team to ensure that families experiencing violence get the help and support they need to stay safe.

An additional $1.4 million from the Justice Sector Fund will support the new site in Waikato, as well as the Christchurch pilot site which has been up and running since 4 July.

Police Minister Judith Collins has today congratulated 39 new Police officers and three Police Dog Patrol teams at the Royal New Zealand Police College at Porirua.

Ms Collins joined family and friends to celebrate the attestation parade of Wing 300 with their Patron, John Allen.

The Wing 300 attestation parade marks the completion of the first phase of the Police officers’ training which involves an intensive 18 week course at the Royal New Zealand Police College.

Police Association delegates, Association life members and staff, representatives from overseas jurisdictions.

Thank-you for this invitation to open your conference and to say a few words about the Government’s priorities for Police and policing in New Zealand.

It’s always good to have an opportunity to talk face to face about how things are going, and in keeping with your invitation, I’ll try and leave a bit of time at the end of my speech for questions.

Official crime statistics for August 2016 released by Statistics New Zealand today, show that Police recorded 12,529 more victimisations in the twelve months ending August 2016 than in the same period last year, which equates to a 4.8 per cent increase.

Burglaries continue to be the single largest driving factor behind the increased crime victimisations with 9,559 more victimisations recorded than for the same time last year.

Police Minister Judith Collins has paid tribute to Police who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Police Remembrance Day will be held  today at the Royal New Zealand Police College with Her Excellency the Right Honourable Dame Patsy Reddy, Governor-General of New Zealand, and Police Commissioner Mike Bush in attendance.

Minister of Police and Corrections Judith Collins has congratulated Senior Constable Blair Spalding and his dog Rush on winning the National Police Patrol Dog Championship.

“The competition was stiff but Blair and Rush have taken the Frank Riley Cup as National Patrol Dog champions and I offer them my most heartfelt congratulations,” says Minister Collins.

Police Minister Judith Collins today congratulated 40 new Police officers in the Sir Edward (Eddie) Durrie recruit Wing 299.

Ms Collins joined family and friends to celebrate the attestation parade of Wing 299 at the Royal New Zealand Police College at Porirua.

Diversity is clear in this Wing with members from South Korea, Kuwait, Scotland, Tonga, Chile and even Lesotho.

Thank-you for this opportunity to address this year’s annual conference for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Professionals.

This is a really important area of work not just for law enforcement and the wider financial sector but also for the community, which we all want to keep safe from this type of crime and the crime it can be used to finance.

So it’s great to see you all getting together to talk about how we can be even better at detecting that offending and preventing further harm.

Official crime statistics for July 2016 released today by Statistics New Zealand today, show that Police recorded 11,171 more victimisations than the same period last year, which equates to a 2.3 per cent increase.

More than three quarters of this increase can be attributed to burglaries.  The national burglary rate in the 12-month period increased by 11.9 per cent compared to the same period last year. 

Auckland City was the only police district to record a reduction in its burglary rate (10 per cent).  

Police Minister Judith Collins welcomes Police’s decision to attend all house break-ins, which comes into effect today.

While burglary rates are still below that of recent years, there has been an increase over the past 12 months. Police has responded by raising dwelling burglary from a volume crime to a priority offence.

“This shows Police are serious about tackling burglary and also sends a clear message to offenders.”

Police Minister Judith Collins has today congratulated New Zealand Police for their success in winning the Diversity Works New Zealand 2016 Empowerment Award, and the overall Supreme Award last night.

These awards recognize the work by New Zealand Police to improve gender balance in its workforce in the areas of recruitment, retention and progression of women in the organisation. 

“This year Police has marked the 75th anniversary of women in the organisation and I have been very proud to participate in these celebrations. 

The Ministers of Police, Customs, and Internal Affairs have congratulated their departments for their efforts in fighting online child sexual abuse.

The Ministers say identification and rescue of victims, both within New Zealand and internationally, will continue to be a priority of their departments’ work. Police, Customs and Internal Affairs recently worked together to create a national database of images to assist in the assessment of child abuse material and victim identification. 

New Zealand First is misleading the public through its incorrect use of raw data which are not official statistics, Police Minister Judith Collins says.

“New Zealand First has used data from Police Communications Centres to paint a picture about crime trends that is incorrect.

“The data New Zealand First are using only represents calls for service to Police Communications Centres.

Ministers today confirmed Waikato would be the second site for the Integrated Safety Response pilot.

The pilot, also being run in Christchurch, brings together different agencies involved in family violence to support victims and their families in a daily safety assessment approach.

Police Minister Judith Collins congratulates the 60 new Police officers who will graduate as Constables today.

“Today marks the start of a challenging and rewarding new career. Every day you will go to work with the knowledge that you are making New Zealand a better and safer place.”

Ms Collins said it’s great to see a number of new graduates with diverse backgrounds which will give them an advantage in their new role as a Constable.

Police Minister Judith Collins has congratulated the 11 people, five of them police officers, who were named as recipients of New Zealand Bravery Awards today for putting their lives at immediate risk to save or attempt to save others.

Three New Zealand Bravery Decorations have been awarded for acts of exceptional bravery, and eight New Zealand Bravery Medals awarded for acts of bravery.

“These brave New Zealanders put themselves at risk without hesitation to save or help save the lives of others,” Ms Collins said. 

Official statistics for June 2016 have been released by Statistics New Zealand today, completing the first two years’ of comparable data under the new method of reporting crime statistics.

In July 2014 Police introduced the Recorded Crime Victimisation and Recorded Crime Offender (RCVS and RCOS) statistics.

The new method provides for more open and transparent data and brings New Zealand’s data in line with other countries, including the United Kingdom and Australia.

Police Minister Judith Collins has congratulated New Zealand Police on its success at last night’s IPANZ Public Sector 2016 Excellence Awards.

New Zealand Police was the winner in ‘building trust and confidence in government’, as a result of its ongoing initiative Enhancing Trust and Confidence through culture change at NZ Police.

“Earning public trust and confidence goes to the heart of New Zealand Police and the work it does to keep our communities safe.

Mr Mike Bush has been reappointed as the Commissioner of Police, Police Minister Judith Collins announced today.

“Mike Bush is a highly respected leader who has achieved a lot during his term as Police Commissioner and I am very pleased that he will continue leading the men and women who work to keep our communities safe.

“His focus will be on modernising the police workforce, and building a more open and inclusive culture to deliver a world class police force that better reflects the communities they serve,” Ms Collins said.

The new Police Family Violence Information Disclosure Scheme is providing victims and potential victims with the information they need to leave potentially dangerous situations, Police Minister Judith Collins says.

A total of 38 cases have been referred to the scheme since it was launched in December 2015.

A request for the disclosure may be made to the Police by the partner of the potentially violent person, or a concerned third party.

Ministers today welcomed a new pilot in Christchurch which aims to ensure families experiencing family violence are safe and receive the services they need to prevent further harm.

At the heart of the new approach are government agencies and NGOs working together for families and whānau to provide increased support to high-risk victims, better manage perpetrators and improve collaboration between agencies.

Police are committed to improving resolution rates and reducing the number of burglaries, says Police Minister Judith Collins.

Ms Collins was commenting on the official crime statistics for the month of May, released by Statistics New Zealand today, which show the national burglary rate increased by 11.9 per cent for the 2015/16 financial year to May 2016 when compared to the same period last year.