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The drive to get more women and non-European officers into the police has been blamed for some ill-equipped people being accepted for training to join the force.
An internal report by a senior trainer at the Royal NZ Police College in Porirua said the number of poorly performing recruits who needed extra training before graduation had increased 150 per cent.
Police management have sought to downplay the report, saying there was no evidence that standards were slipping.
The promise to recruit 1000 extra police, which New Zealand First extracted from Labour in return for support on confidence votes and money supply, has also come under the spotlight, with critics claiming it too has led to a drop in standards.
New Zealand First law and order spokesman Ron Mark said police were ahead of recruiting targets and there was an ample number of suitable recruits if the right people were sought.
However, he questioned police recruiting policy concerning women and minority groups.
"What we suspect is that the police objective to achieve certain gender and ethnicity balances is where the compromises are being made. That disappoints us, and it disappoints us that the police have not been upfront with those problems," Mr Mark said.
A police spokesman said no compromises were made in terms of the qualified officers who left the college. However, some leeway was given to recruits who were struggling to qualify as police officers.
"They all have to meet the same standard, and they all have to pass in the college before they get out," the spokesman said. "There have been those who perhaps haven't quite been up to it, but they won't be graduated until they are."
Dame Margaret Bazley's report on police conduct, released in April, recommended greater recruitment of women and ethnic minorities.
Prime Minister Helen Clark yesterday said the focus on recruiting across all ethnic groups had taken a toll on the new graduates, but she did not accept that standards were falling.
"Firstly, there is a very tight labour market, so anyone out recruiting at the moment faces that, whether we're talking police, customs, Fire Service, public or private sector.
"Secondly, the police do need to try to broaden the sectors of society from whom they are recruiting, if they are to be successful in meeting their targets.
"You might have some catch-up to do in English, where it's been a second language with emerging ethnic communities, but that can be easily remedied with tuition."
The PM said police were looking at a pre-employment training to bring potential candidates up to speed before they arrived at the police college.
Police Association president Greg O'Connor said the union had been aware of concerns about the quality of some recruits "on the margins" for some time. Pressure to find staff to serve in Auckland, and a tight labour market, had caused problems for police recruiters.
But Mr O'Connor said candidates who showed low intelligence or had poor decision-making abilities were in the minority.
"We have the dilemma: do you leave our existing police out there drastically and chronically short-staffed, or do you do what you have to do to get people out there, but with possible long-term ramifications?"
National police spokesman Chester Borrows said no discussions were held between police and the Government before ambitious recruitment targets were set.
"They are having trouble getting the recruits, and they appear to be going back to recruits who have already been rejected ... Confidence in the police has never been lower."
