Police in Auckland cannot afford to buy food, says a senior cop. Photo / File
Police in Auckland cannot afford to buy food, says a senior cop. Photo / File
Young Auckland cops are eating 89 cent tins of baked beans for dinner at work, or being supplied food by their senior colleagues because they simply cannot afford life in the city on their current wages.
An Auckland officer has revealed that his younger colleagues are struggling to make ends meet in a letter to the Police Association published this afternoon.
The letter follows news that the police union had rejected an offer of a 2 per cent annual pay rise for three years.
More than 8500 sworn officers in the Police Association are calling for not only better pay but paid overtime and better recognition of shift work disruption and the increasing risks of the job itself.
Association President Chris Cahill said the cost of living in Auckland, Queenstown and Tauranga was also contributing to staff reaching breaking point and wanting to leave the force.
He said in Auckland in particular, attrition rates were a huge concern, given that 50 per cent of new recruits were headed to the city over the next three to five years.
The letter was written by an Auckland officer to the association and published on the union's Facebook page this afternoon.
NZ Police Association president Chris Cahill. Photo / Mark Mitchell
"With the permission of the writer of this letter, we are sharing it because it gives such a comprehensive account of the pressures on our frontline members," an association spokesperson said.
"This is just one of numerous letters we receive about the financial and other realities of policing in Auckland.
"Unfortunately, we know many of you will relate to it."
The association chose not to publish the writer's name.
The officer starts the letter by saying they "fully support" the pay offer being rejected.
"It is totally unacceptable," the letter read.
"I am a PST Sergeant in Auckland.
"Most of my team have less than 12 months service, and most of those get posted to Auckland having never lived here before.
"A number of my staff are struggling financially.
"I have staff members bringing in 89c tins of baked beans for their dinner because they can't afford anything more extravagant.
"Because of this I have taken to cooking a large meal to bring in for the team once every six days of shift work, to make sure they do get something substantial into them.
"I'd do more but even as a Sergeant I am struggling; I can't afford a house close to work so I live in one of the cheapest suburbs in Auckland, so that I can get my daughter to a decent school.
"This means I face a long drive in to work, especially on late shifts to get through traffic. On most days I face 90-120 minutes of travel on top of my shift."
The officer also raised concerns about young staff being "asked to deal with high-risk incidents on a daily basis".
"Barely a late or night shift will pass when we are not arming-up to attend some jobs," the letter said.
"Whilst our numbers are slowly increasing, the percentage of those having less than 12 months service is increasing with each wing we have come out to us.
"And because a large number are from outside Auckland, as soon as jobs are advertised near to where they come from, they are applying to leave.
"Not just to get back closer to home, but because they cannot afford to live reasonably in Auckland."
The officer said several staff on their team were sharing a house in an east Auckland suburb next to a Mongrel Mob address; they didn't realise until after they had moved in, they can't afford to move out because they will lose their deposit/bond, and rents have gone up to the point that they will have to head out further away from work to find suitable accommodation.
"So even when they finish a long day, they are calling in jobs relating to gang activity which they are not in a position to reasonably avoid."
The officer also claimed deploying to meet demand was not working yet.
"There is not one single Friday or Saturday early shift where the team has finished on time," the officer wrote.
"These are already 10-hour shifts, but we will regularly be finishing close to 1900hrs on those shifts. That's a 12-hour shift, with no paid overtime, and with most staff having to factor in over an hour of travelling on top of that.
"We often finish night shifts late, with the fact this leads us to going home right in the middle of rush hour.
"Tired cops who have been flogged to all ends of the district all night by comms, mentally and physically shattered, trying to stay awake as they sit in traffic to try and get home. It is a recipe for disaster, potentially."
The officer said a working party to look at Auckland's cost of living and potential solutions was not needed.
"The Government need to accept this; if we can't retain the staff we are recruiting, we will never actually have the 1800 new staff, because they will simply be replacing those who are leaving for pastures new, less stressful and more financially and life-style rewarding," the letter stated.
"I really hope you guys and girls are successful in getting us the pay settlement I believe we all deserve."
