Manifestos miss police recruiting dilemma

George Hawkins

A dire shortage of police recruits may see training intakes cut back even as political parties pledge to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for thousands more frontline police.

The Herald understands one Police College intake has had so few people sign up that it may be canned.

Police Minister George Hawkins said yesterday that he did not know of any courses which would be postponed or cancelled. He said every police district had a waiting list of people wanting to join the force.

But he confirmed that one course does have far fewer enrolments than is wanted. Although it was still going ahead at the moment, sources said it might yet be delayed or cancelled because of the costs of running undersubscribed intakes.

Other courses already under way or due this year also have too few enrolments to deliver the staffing wanted by police districts, especially in Auckland and Counties-Manukau.

The apparent shortages come as New Zealand First promises 5000 more police over five years, and Act and United Future both head into next month's election wanting about 2500 more frontline staff.

Labour and National have said they will increase frontline capacity, but have not released targets.

Mr Hawkins said the biggest problem facing police was a severe labour shortage caused by low unemployment.

Chronic staffing shortages have been blamed for contributing to police failures in the past year, including the Auckland 111 fiasco when a taxi instead of a patrol car was sent to Piha to answer Iraena Asher's emergency call.

She has not been seen since and is believed to be dead.

Police numbers in Auckland and Counties-Manukau, the most stretched policing districts, have improved since Labour took office. But police sources complained to the Herald that numbers were failing to keep up with population increases.

Mr Hawkins said Auckland would get a second boost from British officers, even though a first recruitment of 76 bobbies in 2003 had a 19 per cent attrition rate.

It was arranged after crisis meetings in the city almost three years ago when police threatened illegal strike action.

There may also be another attempt to lure school-leavers to policing as a career, again despite serious retention problems with the young people who completed a first course through Manukau Institute of Technology and then the Royal Police College at Porirua.

Police Association president Greg O'Connor said many chose not to go to Porirua from Manukau, and one in five of those who did had already quit.

Police have traditionally avoided recruiting teens, believing officers need more maturity and life skills.

Commissioner Rob Robinson declined to be interviewed on policing issues, citing convention which prevents public servants entering political debates, particularly during an election campaign.

Mr O'Connor said the frontline emergency response capability of the police had been "cannibalised" as officers were moved to other duties including traffic patrols.
He said meeting police promises was possible if a future government simply committed to finding the money.

"You can get anything you like if you pay for it. Nurses, teachers, the armed forces, they've all had rises."

From mid-2000 to 2002 there were about 1850 sworn and civilian staff in Greater Auckland.

After the 2002 crisis meetings, numbers rose above 2000 to reach 2106 last month.

* The starting salary for a police graduate is about $42,000, but this is not considered sufficient to attract the usual calibre of recruit to Auckland.

* The next police pay round is due to start in November.

* Police Minister George Hawkins blames recruitment problems on a severe labour shortage caused by low unemployment.

* A second batch of former British bobbies is tipped to boost Auckland numbers.