KEY POINTS:
Police Minister Annette King must explain an internal memo suggesting a traffic ticket quota for some Christchurch police officers, National Party police spokesman Chester Borrows says.
Mr Borrows today released a memo from Canterbury youth service co-ordinator John Robinson in which he ordered the 12 youth educators under him to each try to issue 80 tickets a year around schools.
"I have been convinced that 197 is too many to achieve (this year) so the number has been revised to 80 (that equals two notices per school week and does not cover holidays)," the Senior Sergeant wrote.
"Road safety is such a major part of our role. Notices are a major part of road safety.
"You do need to write tickets! You are in a marked police car, wearing a police uniform ... Would you let a thief run away? An assault happen and not assist? A person report abuse and take no action? I mean we educate about that as well and still enforce it.
"The schools want it, the kids want it, the community want it, I want it. Education does not work without the support of enforcement."
Last year after a leaked memo from a Manawatu traffic sergeant urging staff to write more tickets than in other areas, Ms King told Parliament no set quotas existed.
She said she would be concerned by any similar memo suggesting a quota as "no such performance indicators now exist".
But Mr Borrows said the August 3 memo makes reference to the target being part of the officers' "key responsibility areas" (KRAs).
Mr Borrows said it was the fourth leaked memo in recent times suggesting a quota.
"It's clear that quotas exist and that police, in this case youth education service staff, have their salaries pegged to the number of tickets they dish out through KRAs."
Mr Borrows said he was not against traffic enforcement around schools.
"This is an issue about quotas, about police being ordered to go out and find a set number of tickets."
Mr Robinson told The Press newspaper, his officers had previously never had to enforce road safety and the target was a "guideline" only.
A spokesman for Ms King said Police Commissioner Howard Broad had last year issued a memo urging police to target known crash areas for traffic enforcement rather than concentrating on issuing tickets.
At the time Ms King last year said: "There is not and has never been under this government a quota for traffic tickets".
He said it was up to police bosses to make sure the directive was followed.
- NZPA
