Our View: Police need more to fight P

Police do an amazing job under trying circumstances.
The men and women in blue provide protection for us and uphold the law and generally deserve our praise and respect.
But they do face a battle - as crime statistics show.
Latest figures reported in the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend show overall crime has dropped 0.8 per cent in the year ending March 31. This has to be considered a good result in anyone's books.
Reported crime that has increased includes theft from cars, house burglaries and family violence assaults. Down are assaults, vehicle thefts, burglaries, cannabis offences and other violence.
Of particular note is methamphetamine crime, which rose 22.5 per cent or 174 crimes.
Methamphetamine, or P as it is commonly known, remains a huge problem in our community, one that continues to ruin lives.
It has been controversial in the Bay, with retiring top cop Mel Ridley recently highlighting what he believed was a failure within the police to properly deal with the problem back when it surfaced in the early 1990s.
As always, statistics can be misleading and can be a double-edged sword for police.
The rise in reported P cases does not necessarily mean the problem has got worse. It can also mean that police are doing a better job at catching offenders.
Acting area commander Inspector Karl Wright St-Clair points out police have had a series of large organised crime operations in the Western Bay over the past year and this focus will continue.
It's heartening to see police devoting so many resources to this problem. It is critical they keep the pressure on the scumbags who make and sell this evil drug.
But we may not know just how big the problem really is.
Experts, such as New Zealand Drug Detection Agency, say police may only scratching the surface which, if true, is disturbing.
Police can only do so much with the staffing they have. It is imperative the Government resources them properly so they can keep pressure on P criminals.