Police Commissioner confirms some jobs will be lost

File photo / NZ Herald

The Police Commissioner has confirmed some jobs will go as he makes moves to stay within budget.

Peter Marshall said there are plenty of options about how that will be done and is urging his staff to not panic about losing their jobs.

He said in some cases, jobs will not be filled when staff leave their jobs through retirement, resignation, and ill health.

"One option is not to fill certain vacancies but I make the point very clearly there will be absolutely no reduction in terms of people who are on the front line and I want to increase the number of people on the front line, increase the number of hours out there," he told Newstalk ZB's Larry Williams.

Mr Marshall said he needs to talk through those options with the Police Association.

"Whatever wage deal is struck, and we hope that it's very reasonable in this environment, we will need to absorb but we'll do the right thing by the men and women of New Zealand police."

He said police have been told there will not be any increase in its budget.

Police Minister Anne Tolley said there has been no directive to the Police Commissioner to make savings, just for police to live within their means.

"That's the expectations we all have on our departments that they live within their budget, there isn't extra money and so they have to manage and continue to deliver an increase in front line policing hours."

But Labour's police spokesman Kris Faafoi said he did not see how that can happen.

"I think if we're looking at $360 million over three years, it is going to be a mixture of resourcing and front line staff capability and it's going to hurt the police."