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Police Minister Anne Tolley has today congratulated Auckland City Police officers for their dedication to tackling and preventing crime.

The Minister was presenting awards and medals to Police staff in recognition of bravery, good conduct and long service, at a ceremony in Auckland Town Hall.

“The performance and results of Auckland City Police in the past year have been outstanding,” says Mrs Tolley.

“There were over 6,500 fewer recorded crimes in the district last year, a drop of over 12 per cent.

Police Minister Anne Tolley says Labour is continuing its campaign to mislead the public and undermine confidence in the Police.

“Our Police deserve praise for making our communities safer and for the drop in crime in each of the past three years,” says Mrs Tolley.

“They don’t deserve to be treated as a political football by Labour, which is once again falsely claiming cuts to the Police budget.

“Operational funding for Police in Budget 2013 is being maintained at $1.49 billion, which is very clear in Budget documents.

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.

Budget 2013 supports the Government’s target of further reducing reoffending, leading to fewer victims of crime, and the redesign of electronically monitored bail, Corrections Minister Anne Tolley says.

Some $10 million in operating funding over two years is being made available from the Justice Sector Fund to establish a new post-release service for offenders, at a time when they are at a high risk of returning to crime.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley says reoffending has been cut by 8 per cent since the Better Public Services June 2011 benchmark, meaning there are 1,476 fewer repeat offenders and over 5,904 fewer victims of crime each year.

The Government has a target of a 25 per cent reduction in reoffending by 2017, which will result in 18,500 fewer victims each year.

“The latest statistics, to the end of December, show that Corrections is making excellent progress,” says Mrs Tolley.

Police Minister Anne Tolley has officially opened the refurbished national headquarters for the Police Crime Reporting Line (CRL), at Harlech House in Otahuhu.

At a cost of just over $7 million, the revamped building will house 140 staff once the national rollout of the CRL is completed by the beginning of July. It is expected it will take around half a million calls a year.

The Government is seeking public feedback on proposals for Inland Revenue to share some information with other government agencies to help fight serious crime, Revenue Minister Peter Dunne, Justice Minister Judith Collins and Police Minister Anne Tolley announced today.

Police Minister Anne Tolley says the New Zealand Police deserve huge credit for the fact that crime is down 16.7 per cent over the past three years, and Labour should cease their constant attempts to undermine this great work.

Crime has fallen for the third year running and offences are at a 24-year low, with significant drops in burglary, robbery and theft.

“Frontline policing in our communities, and a much greater focus on crime prevention, is making a real difference,” says Mrs Tolley.

Police Minister Anne Tolley says the operational changes made by Police are having a huge impact, with the crime statistics for 2012 showing the lowest number of recorded offences for 24 years, as crime falls for the third year in a row.

"These statistics show that our Police are getting it right, and I want to congratulate the Commissioner and all Police staff for their efforts in preventing crime and making communities safer," says Mrs Tolley.

Police Minister Anne Tolley says Labour needs to back our Police, rather than mislead and criticise over any operational changes they make to provide a better service to the public.

“Once again, Labour is scaremongering and trying to use our Police as a political football,” says Mrs Tolley.

“Claims that Police stations are closing are nonsense and Labour knows it.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley has officially opened new community probation centres in Thames and Tauranga.

The Thames centre cost $1.4 million to build, with the Tauranga South facility costing $1.2 million, and each will provide safer and more modern environments for Corrections staff and community groups.

“Our staff work extremely hard to keep communities safe and to try and help offenders turn their lives around,” says Mrs Tolley.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley says prison performance tables have been introduced for the first time to enable greater transparency and accountability to taxpayers.

All 17 prisons are now measured on their performance against each other in a range of areas including security, assaults, drug tests and rehabilitation programmes. They are then categorised in four performance grades, with the resulting tables released quarterly.

The information is used by Corrections and prison managers to identify and share successful practices, and focus on areas which need improvement.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley says the Administration of Community Sentences and Orders Bill has passed its second reading in Parliament.

The Bill amends the Bail Act 2000, Parole Act 2002 and Sentencing Act 2002 to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Corrections sentences and orders in the community.

It also introduces a number of policy changes and provides clarification for aspects of home detention, community-based sentences and electronic monitoring.

Police Minister Anne Tolley says Labour need to stop using Police as a political football, and let them get on with the job of reducing and preventing crime.

"Police are working smarter and better, with the right people in the right places at the right time to prevent crime from taking place," says Mrs Tolley.

"We are seeing fantastic results. Crime rates have fallen for two years in a row and are now at a thirty year low.

Police Minister Anne Tolley says illegal street racing offences have fallen by 35 per cent since 2009, after the National-led Government introduced legislation to combat boy racers.

Offences dropped from 2738 in 2009 to 1759 in 2012. In the same period, road deaths for 15-24 year olds reduced from 105 to 65.

“We are seeing encouraging results, with almost a thousand fewer offences in 2012 compared to 2009, but the number is still too high,” says Mrs Tolley.

Police Minister Anne Tolley says criminals and gangs are being hit hard as a result of having to forfeit the proceeds of their crimes.

322 assets worth an estimated $26 million have been forfeited by convicted criminals since the National-led Government introduced the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act in December 2009.

Around $21 million was taken from drug offenders, with over $15 million of this coming from methamphetamine associated offences.

Police Minister Anne Tolley has today praised frontline officers at the Counties Manukau Police pay parade and awards ceremony.

Officers were awarded certificates of commendation, as well as long service and good conduct medals, following a parade of 180 staff through the streets of Manukau. Members of the public were also recognised for their efforts in helping prevent crime.

“It was great to see our frontline officers marching through the streets of the community which they serve so well,” says Mrs Tolley.

Police Minister Anne Tolley has congratulated Police and OFCANZ for their involvement in an international operation which has kept $7 million of methamphetamine out of the country and off New Zealand’s streets.

Two shipments totalling 6.6 kg of methamphetamine were seized in Canada before they could be transported here, and as part of the operation a number of arrests have been made by New Zealand Police.

In addition, there have been raids on cannabis growing houses in Auckland which recovered over 600 cannabis plants.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley says a Bill which improves prison safety and security has passed its third reading in Parliament.

The Corrections Amendment Bill improves drug testing and searching procedures in prisons, and makes it an offence to “waterload”, or drink a lot of liquid, to attempt to dilute a drug test.

The Bill also strengthens contraband regulations, to make tobacco and smoking items illegal on prison grounds.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley has officially opened a Young Offenders Unit at Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison, which will deliver a much more structured approach to dealing with young prisoners.

The under 20 year olds will be required to take part in a daily routine which includes education, vocational training and rehabilitative programmes. 

“We don’t want these teenagers to get used to a life of crime, and to continue creating victims in the years ahead,” says Mrs Tolley.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley has announced that two thousand prisoners are to be enrolled in an education programme leading to NCEA qualifications over the next two years, as a result of a new partnership between Corrections and the Open Polytechnic.

The partnership will help Corrections reach its Better Public Service target of a reduction in reoffending of 25 per cent, with 18,500 fewer victims of crime, each year by 2017.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley has announced that GPS monitoring of offenders is to be extended to include prisoners on release-to-work schemes.

Low security prisoners will be electronically tracked while travelling between prisons and their workplace, as well as on the job, and swift action will be taken if they stray into designated exclusion zones.

Police and Corrections Minister Anne Tolley has today officially opened the new Christchurch Central Police station.

Built at a cost of $22 million, the new facility replaces the previous station, which had to be vacated due to earthquake risks.

It will accommodate up to 500 Police staff, who will be sharing the building with 40 Corrections staff.

“I’m delighted that the Police, who have been working in makeshift conditions, now have new, modern and professional surroundings,” says Mrs Tolley.

Police Minister Anne Tolley says the introduction of smartphones and tablets for frontline officers across New Zealand will deliver around 520,000 additional frontline Police hours every year, with more Police work and less paperwork, to further prevent and tackle crime.

6,500 frontline officers will be issued with a smartphone by mid-2014, with 3,900 staff also receiving tablets, so they can access, input and share important information immediately, without having to travel back to their station to access databases or write reports.