KEY POINTS:
The Government has ruled out reversing the merger of police and traffic duties.
Police Minister Annette King said Cabinet had decided to retain the status quo after a study said splitting the functions would only add costs and have no benefits.
The study was done as part of Labour's confidence and supply agreement with New Zealand First.
It follows concerns that police were becoming distracted from fighting crime in a bid to issue more traffic tickets after the police and the Traffic Ministry's Traffic Safety Service were merged in 1992.
The report said reversing the merger would be costly to implement and more expensive in the long term, as well as reducing the number of front line officers for both duties.
Another option of creating a traffic unit within the police would have much the same problems and costs as complete de-merger, the report said.
Ms King said the report did pick up "mixed views" on whether traffic enforcement was having a negative effect on the public's perception of police.
"It is possible we need to do more work to emphasise the importance of traffic enforcement in terms of road safety and in detection of other serious crimes," Ms King said.
New Zealand First MP Ron Mark criticised the study.
"The report's conclusion that the possibility of a traffic arm within police would carry with it many of the perceived disadvantages of a total de-merge are largely unfounded," Mr Mark said.
NZ First did not accept there would be decreased flexibility or visibility.
He also believed the traffic duties were having a more severe impact on the police's reputation.
The study's respondents showed just 17 per cent were happy with the status quo and all Ms King was proposing was a public relations campaign.
"All that is aimed to do is to alter perceptions, not address the underlying issues of the genuine concerns of the vast majority who would prefer to see some king of delineation between police and traffic," Mr Mark said.
- NZPA
