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An ex-cop has blasted police for their response time to burglaries which, he says can leave victims waiting for long periods.
But a top police officer says the number of reported burglaries is down and police are getting to crime scenes more quickly than they once did.
William "Des" Hall
retired from the police in 1984 as a senior sergeant at the Auckland Central station after 27 years of service.
Once part of a CIB team which investigated burglaries throughout Auckland in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Mr Hall said he was "confused and baffled" by current police responses to burglaries.
"I read that burglary complainants are routinely told somebody will attend their complaint within the next two days. Two days?" he asked.
"My thoughts on that is that those responses are by people who do not appreciate the devastation a burglary can cause a Kiwi household."
"It's a shocking experience for a person to come into your home to find it smashed up and ravaged."
The retired 86-year-old who lives in Howick said that as a policeman he had to attend to burglaries promptly and "on the day they were reported".
But while berating police for their apparent lack of response, Mr Hall believed their plight wasn't being helped by a lack of numbers.
"I don't think it's realistic to get to everything ... the reasons are I don't think the police has expanded to the proportion of the demands being made on it," he said.
"Secondly, I believe offences today are met with such inconsequential responses that it's almost a joke, there's a generation out there that doesn't give a stuff about the law or the police, there are no consequences."
Former police detective Neil Grimstone, now security manager for Matrix Security Group, said a two-day wait might suggest police are "snowed under" and need more officers but they had to judge each case separately.
"Sometimes they do drop the ball but they prioritise. They do what they can. If the blood's running in the gutter they go - the rapes, the robberies the murders. Everything else takes a back seat.
"Two days does seem a little bit extreme, but I imagine it wouldn't be the norm."
Mr Grimstone said crime had increased tenfold since Mr Hall was a police officer.
"I don't think you can compare ... For him to say that shows that perhaps he is a little bit out of touch."
Insurance Council chief executive Chris Ryan said the two-day response time did not shock him.
"We're conscious they are not as good as they could be, it's very difficult for police to send someone to every burglary on the same day. That's why we've consistently said we feel the police should have more resources.
"I think police now recognise that burglary is a very important crime for them to address as soon as possible because that's where people start their criminal careers and the move on to more serious offences."
Police association president Greg O'Connor would not comment on Mr Hall's claims, saying: "It's not something our members are bringing to our attention," he said.
The police national media centre would also not respond to questions about police response times.
But Counties Manukau district commander Superintendent Mike Bush said Mr Hall's comments were surprising.
He said there had been fewer burglaries in the region over the past six months, meaning staff were getting to incidents more quickly.
Figures from the police website support Mr Bush's comments. The number of reported burglaries in the Counties Manukau region was down from 808 last July to 554 in July this year.
In Auckland the figures are up slightly from 810 in July 2009 to 825 for the month of July this year.
Mr Bush said the priority for teams of dedicated crime scene attendants, who attend the scene, perform forensic examinations, speak to victims and do local inquiries, was to provide a prompt service.
"We like to get to burglaries within hours of them being reported or at least a minimum of a same day service for us. There will always be an exception to that but I'm not aware of any."
BURGLARIES
National
* July 2009 - 5703
* July 2010 - 5174
Auckland
* July 2009 - 810
* July 2010 - 825
Manukau
* July 2009 - 808
* July 2010 - 554
Waitemata
* July 2009 - 540
* July 2010 - 509
- Source: http://www.police.govt.nz
