Search

Police Minister Anne Tolley is to attend a meeting of the Standing Council on Police and Emergency Management (SCPEM) in Melbourne on 28 and 29 June.

Police Ministers and Commissioners from across Australia will be taking part, to discuss and develop an integrated approach to issues of common interest.

“The SCPEM meeting provides a valuable forum for New Zealand and Australia, to discuss a range of issues from crime to disaster management,” says Mrs Tolley.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley says 24-hour Global Positioning System (GPS) monitoring of high-risk offenders is to be introduced for the first time in New Zealand to strengthen public safety.

Real time monitoring, using ankle bracelets, will track the movements of offenders in the community, and Corrections staff will be alerted and can intervene if offenders stray into exclusion zones such as parks, schools and other specific locations or if they break curfew.

Police Minister Anne Tolley says the first car crushing under laws to crack down on illegal street racing should serve as a warning to boy racers.

Police Minister Anne Tolley today awarded graduation certificates to this year’s first intake of police recruits in Porirua.

74 recruits graduated to become frontline officers following the eighteen- week course. Another eighty recruits are currently in training and two further intakes are planned for July and August.

“I want to congratulate each of the successful graduates from Wing 272,” says Mrs Tolley.

“Guided by excellent trainers, they have proved themselves worthy of becoming frontline police officers.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley says officers in every prison are to have access to pepper spray to improve safety for frontline staff, following a successful twelve-month trial.

The 2011 trial found that pepper spray is an effective tactical option and deterrent, which can reduce the risk of injury to both staff and prisoners in some potentially violent situations.

Police Minister Anne Tolley has today officially opened the new Otahuhu police station in Counties Manukau.

The $8.6 million facility is the second new station to open in Counties Manukau this month, closely following the new $10.2 million Police headquarters at Botany.

“This is yet another boost to the Counties Manukau area,” says Mrs Tolley.

“We needed more space after the National-led Government provided an additional 300 frontline officers, so staff and the local community will benefit from these new modern facilities.

Budget 2012 supports better public services by contributing to targets that will reduce prisoner reoffending by 25 per cent by 2017 and result in 18,500 fewer victims of crime every year, Police and Corrections Minister Anne Tolley says.

Reprioritising Corrections funding and maintaining funding for Police supports the Government’s focus on preventing and reducing crime, and making communities safer.

Police Minister Anne Tolley says a Bill that clarifies the definition of military style semi-automatic firearms (MSSAs), and places controls on the importation of airguns that look like real pistols, MSSAs or restricted weapons has passed its second reading in Parliament.

The Arms (Military Style Semi-Automatic Firearms and Import Controls) Amendment Bill requires importers of such airguns to have a special permit from Police.

“Replica firearms can easily be mistaken for real weapons and are often used by criminals,” says Mrs Tolley.

Budget 2012 will contribute to a 25 per cent reduction in reoffending by 2017, and 18,500 fewer victims of crime every year from 2017, Corrections Minister Anne Tolley and Associate Corrections Minister Dr Pita Sharples say.

The moves are part of the Prime Minister’s expectations for a more efficient and results-driven public service.

A boost in alcohol and drug treatment, alongside increased education, skills training and employment programmes for prisoners, including remand prisoners, will lead to safer communities and better value for money for taxpayers.

Police Minister Anne Tolley has today officially opened the new Counties Manukau East police station.

The new $10.2 million headquarters, at Ormiston Road in Botany, provides modern facilities for police staff and members of the community, and has been completed ahead of time and under budget.

“The new station is a real boost to the area,” says Mrs Tolley.

“It provides a better and more efficient workplace for staff, in an area which is at the forefront of policing in New Zealand.

A Bill aimed at improving public safety by strengthening the law around community sentences has passed its first reading in Parliament, says Corrections Minister Anne Tolley.

“The Administration of Community Sentences and Orders Bill will close a number of loopholes in the current legislation,” says Mrs Tolley.

“It will ensure that offenders on community-based sentences and home detention complete their full sentences,” says Mrs Tolley.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley says there has been a 45 per cent rise in the number of NZQF credits gained by prisoners from trade training inside the wire.

In the last financial year there were 108,000 credits achieved in total by an average 4,700 prisoners engaged in trades and employment training.

“These figures are extremely encouraging,” says Mrs Tolley.

“An increasing number of prisoners are gaining vital work skills, and we know that offenders who gain employment after release are less likely to reoffend.

Police Minister Anne Tolley has praised Police following another significant drop in crime rates. Recorded offences were down for the second successive year, reaching a fifteen-year low in 2011.

Overall, recorded crime was 4.8 per cent lower in 2011, and down 5.6 per cent per head of population with 20,289 fewer offences compared to 2010.

It follows a 5.6 per cent reduction in 2010, or 6.7 per cent per head of population.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley says the number of prisoners testing positive for drugs has reached a record low.

Latest figures, for the eight months up to the end of February, show that only 4.3 per cent of prisoners returned a positive result after random tests for drugs.

“These figures are fantastic, and show that our significant investment in addiction treatment and prison security is paying off,” says Mrs Tolley.

“We have come a long way since testing first began in 1998, when over a third of prisoners tested positive for drugs.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley says the Puppies in Prison programme, launched today at Spring Hill Corrections Facility, will reduce reoffending and lead to increased numbers of mobility dogs trained to help people living with disabilities.

“The programme, undertaken in partnership with the Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust, will see a number of low-security prisoners provide full-time training for mobility dogs, which will go on to assist people living with disabilities,” says Mrs Tolley.

A new public-private partnership (PPP) prison at Wiri, South Auckland, will provide improved facilities, better services and a tighter focus on results, Finance Minister Bill English and Corrections Minister Anne Tolley say.

The Government has chosen a consortium of companies, SecureFuture, to design, finance, build, operate and maintain the new 960-bed facility, which is needed to meet growing demand for prisoner accommodation in Auckland.

A Bill that will improve prison safety and security and reduce prisoners’ access to contraband has passed its first reading in Parliament, says Corrections Minister Anne Tolley.

“The Corrections Amendment Bill removes red tape, allows our prisons to operate more effectively and makes improvements to drug testing and searching procedures,” says Mrs Tolley.

The Bill will also introduce a single procedure for the strip searching of prisoners and provides greater clarity as to when strip searching must be undertaken.

Police Minister Anne Tolley has congratulated the Police after significant drugs busts in the Waikato.

The raids, in which a methamphetamine laboratory was uncovered, led to the seizure of substantial amounts of methamphetamine, chemicals and cash, along with a number of firearms.

“This is a great result, and I want to thank the police officers from Waikato, Auckland and the Bay of Plenty who worked together on this significant operation,” says Mrs Tolley.

“The Government will not tolerate methamphetamine in our communties.

Police Minister Anne Tolley has turned the sod for a new police station at Rolleston, near Christchurch.

The total cost of the project is $1.6 million, and is set to be completed by September.

“Our police require the best tools for the job to keep communities safe,” says Mrs Tolley.

“The new Rolleston police station will incorporate modern design and technology, and is located much closer to the local community than the existing station.

Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee and Police Minister Anne Tolley say the record low 2011 road toll of 284 is encouraging but they are urging road users to remain vigilant in keeping the road toll down.

The provisional 2011 toll compares with 375 in 2010, 384 in 2009 and 366 in 2008. The last time the road toll was below 300 was in 1952 when 272 people died.

The Ministers say that the current holiday road toll illustrates why there is no room for complacency.