Budget 09: 300 more cops for Counties-Manukau

Police Minister Judith Collins says the Government is committed to increasing the number of officers dealing directly with the public. Photo / Rotorua Daily Post

Counties-Manukau is to get 300 new frontline police officers promised by National and delivered as part of a $162.5 million police package in the Budget.

The Government has provided funding for 600 new police by the end of 2011, of which 300 will be recruited to Counties-Manukau from last December to the end of next year.

Counties-Manukau now has about 780 police officers.

Manukau City councillor Daniel Newman said the extra police contingent would be costly and take time to implement, but believed they would bring significant benefits.

Mr Newman said 51,511 offences were recorded in the Counties-Manukau police district in 2008, with the level of violent offending increasing 5.1 per cent and drug and anti-social offending rising 7. 3 per cent.

Deputy Commissioner Lyn Provost said the Budget announcement gave the police the resourcing and tools needed to deliver on the commitment to have 600 extra staff on board by the end of 2011.

"Details on the exact deployment of extra staff in Counties-Manukau are being worked on at present and Commissioner Howard Broad is considering a number of recommendations," he said. "These include further resourcing for areas such as response, investigations, youth and community services, intelligence and case management."

Police Minister Judith Collins said the Government was delivering on an election promise to increase the number of officers directly delivering services to the public.

Police Association vice-president Stuart Mills said the extra police were welcome, but the overall police budget had not increased.

"That means police are not being funded to match inflation-related cost pressures, or allow for fair pay movements," he said. "That means, despite the new staff, this will be a tough year."

The Budget also included an extra $255.9 million to address probation service issues.

In February, Auditor-General Kevin Brady released a report that examined 100 parole cases, including 52 high-risk offenders, and reported that in most of them the correct procedures were not followed.

Staff did not even carry out some of the special provisions brought in after parolee Graeme Burton murdered Karl Kuchenbecker in January 2007.

The report said the Community Probation and Psychological Services had 10 per cent fewer probation officers than it needed, due to increasing numbers of offenders on community sentences.

The extra funding included $205 million in operating spending over four years and $50.9 million in capital spending over two years.

Operating funding would allow the probation services to hire an extra 134 probation officers, 26 frontline managers and 20 psychologists.

Ms Collins said that would ensure the service could effectively manage almost 100,000 sentences and orders each year.

Another $71.2 million in operating funding has been approved over four years to improve parole and home detention management.