Police intake down 50 per cent

Police held a crisis recruitment meeting yesterday after concerns that intake numbers are down 50 per cent and officers are leaving faster than can be replaced, the Police Association said today.

Association president Greg O'Connor said today the union was not involved in the meeting but was concerned by low recruitment numbers.

"We've seen this cycle before," he said. "When numbers get down it becomes a vicious cycle and is harder to get people in."

The association was keen to work with police to make becoming a police officer more attractive.

"It's a very competitive environment at the moment."

Mr O'Connor said he had yet to receive a report on the meeting and was unable to confirm reports there had been suggestions police consider lowering their standards to fill recruiting demands.

He said if that was the case it would be a concern.



National MP Tony Ryall said today the meeting followed comments by a senior Palmerston North police officer last week that the staffing crisis was affecting Auckland, Taranaki, Manawatu, Hawkes Bay and Wanganui.

At the meeting, called by Assistant Commissioner Lyn Provost, recruiting staff had reported the number of recruits in the latest intake was down by 50 per cent, he said.

"There were suggestions that police might consider lowering their standards to fill recruiting demands."

Mr Ryall said police call centres were in disarray with over 180,000 calls unanswered in the past year.

"It's taking longer and longer for police to respond to priority call-outs in many parts of the country. No wonder the place is a mess."

The Government had undermined public confidence in the police service to such a level that crime victims were no longer reporting many minor crimes, he said.

He added: "We caution against lowering recruiting standards to compensate for government failure. Lessons can be learned from the staffing crisis in 2001/02: Police need strong leadership, less revenue gathering and renewed public confidence."

- NZPA