What a slap in the face to our hard-working officers.
But these are not the first head-scratching comments we’ve heard from Paul or her Green Party colleagues on law and order issues. Just this month, Paul expressed “regret” about a TikTok post where she incorrectly claimed the “vast majority” of people in prison were there for non-violent offences.
Her most recent thoughts came during a university students’ panel discussion on a “radical alternative to policing”.
“Wellington people do not want to see police officers everywhere and, for a lot of people, it makes them feel less safe. It’s that constant visual presence that tells you that you might not be safe there, if there’s heaps of cops,” she said.
“All they do is walk around all day, waiting for homeless people to leave their spot, packing their stuff up and throwing it in the bin,” she added.
These comments will undoubtedly play well with, and may have been intended for, the baked-in Green Party base. But they will alienate the more moderate supporters or those voters who have flirted with supporting the party in the past.
Former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said last year when announcing the Community Beat Teams that “communities want to see more police out and about”.
We and police know that increased visibility deters antisocial behaviour and crime and encourages a sense of safety. This is what the wider community wants and we’re finally getting it.
While the individual perception of safety on our city streets should always be considered and those who are feeling unsafe with an increased police presence should be acknowledged, the statistics tell a different story.
An increase in foot patrols has reduced crime.
Wellington Central, Paul’s electorate, has seen a 5.5% decrease in violent crime after the Community Beat Team was deployed there, Police Minister Mark Mitchell said.
Police data show the annual number of assaults, robberies, burglaries and thefts across the Auckland CBD was down in January.
It is likely the launch of Operation Safer Streets in Auckland and the additional 21 police staff in the CBD to target antisocial behaviour and crime has helped this.
It is a positive trend, not a negative, as Paul makes out.
Last year, police data also showed a 22% reduction in serious assaults in the Auckland CBD in the period from January to July when compared to the same period last year.
Anyone who thinks less visible police is the answer will have a hard time arguing that to Aucklanders. We will find it hard to forget the bad days after the Covid-19 lockdowns, when the CBD saw a spike in violence that included shootings, stabbings and ram raids.
Paul also expressed concern about police dealing with those with mental illnesses.
In this instance, she is right. But until other agencies are properly resourced and trained, our police officers will unfortunately remain the front line for dealing with these incidents.
She would have also found more sympathy for the argument of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Manukau, for example, has seen a rise in crime during the same time period that Auckland’s CBD – with its additional resources – has seen a decrease.
Paul’s leader, Chlöe Swarbrick, says her colleague was representing a diversity of views.
But are they credible ones?
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