Editorial: We need clarity on policing

There is no question that Bay people, especially many in Napier, are concerned about policing numbers and deployment in our province.

We get many calls, texts and letters to the editor and online comments on the issue. The majority view, correct or not, is that we simply don't have enough police officers out there on the front line.

This view has been fuelled by operational changes made to policing in the province, in particular the moving of some resources from Napier to Hastings.

The MP for Napier and Labour's police spokesman Stuart Nash has sounded the alarm at what he claims is an eroding of police resources in Napier.

Whether or not this is true, and police management says it is not, there is now a perception out there that we are lacking the required number of "bobbies on the beat", especially in Napier.

Mr Nash is right to ask questions - it is his job, after all - and certainly some decisions do invite further questions. He raises the example of Napier's Armed Offenders Squad members no longer having their equipment in Napier but stored in Hastings. If there is an incident in Napier, squad members will have to head to Hastings to get it and drive back to Napier. Although police management have not confirmed this, if it is true, it simply does not make sense.

Mr Nash is right to keep the pressure on. However, he has probably gone too far in his personal comments about Superintendent Sandra Venables, the Eastern District Commander.

Targeting her for "living outside the region" and saying he has lost confidence in her do not help, as he should be in a position where he can meet her on behalf of his electorate to discuss what is going on.

One thing is certain, clarity is needed on police resources in the Bay.