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Private investigators could be given the power to arrest and prosecute criminals under proposed changes to police laws.
Critics say civilians given stronger powers under the Policing Bill would be untrained and unaccountable.
But supporters say the police are too stretched to tackle fraud - even with a
new organised crime unit - and a partnership with private investigators would lead to a crackdown on white-collar crime.
Under proposed changes to the Police Act, Commissioner Howard Broad could from "time to time" appoint people with the "powers, functions and duties" of sworn officers.
The power would be on an acting, temporary or casual basis, or for any period the Commissioner and employee agreed on.
Similarly, Broad could place an officer with another employer, such as a private investigation firm.
In effect, this would allow private detectives to gather evidence of white-collar crime before a sworn officer executed search warrants, arrested offenders or even prosecuted.
The bill is being debated by Parliament's law and order select committee, chaired by Ron Mark.
Broad declined to comment until the bill became law.
But Police Association vice-president Stuart Mills said passing police powers to private investigators would confuse the public, who expected a properly trained police service.
"Who are private investigators accountable to? The clients who pay them," said Mills.
"Leave policing to police. That's what we're trained to do without fear or favour."
Ron McQuilter, managing director of private investigators Paragon New Zealand, said partnerships with firms such as his were being created by law enforcement agencies worldwide, including the FBI.
Paragon is often hired to investigate fraud, sometimes by Government departments.
McQuilter was candid about the lucrative contracts his company would gain from private-public partnerships, but said police did not have the resources to combat white-collar crime - even when the investigation work had already been done.
A recent case involved $1.5 million of stolen money. Paragon obtained confessions and handed a complete prosecution file to police.
Six months later, nothing has happened, with tens of thousands of recovered dollars sitting in a Paragon safe.
"At the moment, there are crooks getting away with crime because the police are too busy to arrest them."
Mark said he was keeping "an open mind" about contracting private investigators, particularly on fraud offences. Police lacked the manpower and expertise to investigate mid-level fraud and he was concerned they refused to look at some cases, even when private investigators obtained taped confessions.
"We are very mindful of the frustration of ordinary Kiwis who are being denied justice because the police don't have the resources to deal with their case," he said.
Police and Justice Minister Annette King's office did not return calls, but in a statement last month she said there were more than 2000 extra police on the street since Labour came into office in 1999.
A new agency to combat serious and financial crime will be launched in July - amalgamating the Serious Fraud Office with police.
