Ms Tolley told the conference it was Police Commissioner Peter Marshall's job to allocate funding and resources.
Questions regarding staff restructuring and the use of non-sworn staff and volunteers were rebuffed by Ms Tolley as an "operational matter''.
"As Minister, I have absolutely no influence and do not get involved. That's a completely operational matter issue. The Commissioner is entirely independent on how he manages his staff and you wouldn't want it any other way.''
Police Association president Greg O'Connor, whose continuing leadership of the union will be voted on later today, warned Ms Tolley that police were struggling with limited resources and funding.
A video shown at the conference, prior to Ms Tolley's speech, featured media coverage of several brutal attacks on police - including the stabbing of Todd Martin, community constable for Mission Bay and St Heliers, earlier this month.
Mr O'Connor warned that ongoing restructuring could lead to serious long-term consequences.
"Ultimately, if you remove the structure which supports the reduction in crime which we have at the moment ... you don't have to be a rocket scientist to work out that crime's eventually going to be impacted,'' he said.
"The police budget has been frozen for several years. The demands on police have increased considerably. It's quite obvious that if you demand more, then you really should give more to achieve it.''
