Police staff rack up huge bills

Credit card expenses include luxury hotels and restaurants. Photo / Amos Chapple

Police racked up more than $2.5 million of charges on business credit cards last year, including stays at luxury hotels, dinners at flashy restaurants and countless taxi rides.

However, they say all charges were incurred in the line of duty and they have nothing to hide when it comes to revealing details of their spending.

In total, 821 police staff with credit cards spent a combined $2.571m last year, up from $2.4m in 2007.

So far this year they have spent $784,000.

Statements for Commissioner Howard Broad, his two deputy and five assistant commissioners, five national managers and 12 district commanders show credit card spending of $133,980.30 between January last year and February this year.

The statements were provided to the Herald on Sunday under the Official Information Act.

The cards are issued on the proviso they are used only for "goods and services validly incurred in the course of NZ Police business".

Bruce Simpson, the general manager of the police finance and planning team, said the cards were used predominantly for business-related travel.

"The type of expenditure covered includes taxis, hotels, motels, and meals," he said.

"All cards statements are checked and authorised by a supervisor. Police have strict policies and procedures around the use of credit cards."

Other expenses, such as Broad's airport valet parking and Simpson's annual fee to the Institute of Chartered Accountants, registration fees for conferences and forums, holiday parks for recruitment camps for high school students and university textbooks are also paid by credit card.

All cards have a spending limit, but each cardholder's annual spending is governed by their own budget.

Broad and overseas-based liaison officers can spend up to $10,000 at a time, and deputy and assistant commissioners, national managers and district commanders get $5000.

Of the 13 credit card statements provided for staff at Police National Headquarters, Deputy Commissioner Rob Pope was the biggest spender, with a total of $13,436.57, followed by Assistant Commissioner Steve Shortland with $8084.53.

Detective Superintendent Malcolm Burgess, head of the national organised and financial crime agency, spent $7718.00 and Simpson $6122.34.

The statements showed transactions from trips around Australia and to Bangkok, Beijing, Belgium, Hong Kong, Kiribati, Samoa, Singapore and Suva.

They also revealed police bosses have been staying in luxury accommodation, including the Renaissance Brussels Hotel in Belgium, Hilton hotels in Bangkok and Adelaide, Samoa's Aggie Grey's Hotel, Queenstown's upmarket Millbrook Resort and Wellington boutique hotel The Bolton.

Simpson said the hotels were "good value middle of the road" places and accommodation within New Zealand was selected from a set "panel".

"A nominal expenditure guide is in place to assist in the choice for New Zealand hotels. This is harder to prescribe for overseas locations."

He said the venue for courses, conferences and other events often guided where officers stayed.

"Further, some hotels offer us excellent rates - especially at off-peak times - and other benefits such a as free parking, which save the New Zealand Police money."

Labour's police spokesman Clayton Cosgrove said the total spent on credit cards was more than 10 per cent of the $21m figure police are being told to cut from their budget this financial year.

"I would assume the Police Minister is taking a great interest in expenditure of this nature in these tough times," he said. "I am sure this will be raised when police appear before the select committee regarding their budget."

Police Minister Judith Collins would not comment, saying credit card use was the responsibility of the Police Commissioner.

Police Association president Greg O'Connor said credit card spending was scrutinised.

"It's essential that we keep up to date with what is happening in policing around the world. Police have to stay in hotels, they have to eat, they have to catch taxis. Our crooks are travelling overseas so it would be folly for police not to travel."

The majority of spending on the 12 district commanders cards was for travel, food and hotels in New Zealand.

The biggest spender was Eastern area Superintendent Sam Hoyle, who racked up $15,046.75, followed by Waikato Superintendent Allan Boreham with $8482.24 and Central Superintendent Russell Gibson with $7607.86.