Police don't investigate one in five crimes

Picture / Dean Purcell

A top-level police report has revealed that 600 investigation files - one in five - are unassigned in the Auckland City district alone. Similar situations are likely elsewhere.

The report, obtained by the Herald, paints a picture of an overstretched police force in which managers have no choice but to "suspend or abandon" investigations deemed less important than others.

Among those less-important crimes it identifies are offences such as commercial burglary, including repeat break-ins, fraud, theft from cars and shops, and criminal damage.

This is despite police acknowledging that those who commit relatively minor crimes can progress to much worse offending, as was the case with William Bell, now serving a 30-year sentence for the brutal murder of three people during the robbery of the Panmure RSA in 2001. At the time of the murders, Bell was wanted by police for commercial burglaries.

Entitled "Investigations: Management Plan", the report was produced this month and put into immediate action.

Written by district commander Detective Superintendent Gavin Jones and crime services manager Detective Inspector Bruce Shadbolt, it says the district has a 20 per cent shortfall of CIB investigators.

Mr Jones, a detective for most of his 30 years in the police, told the Weekend Herald yesterday that the staff shortage was no worse than in recent years.

His district had 97 detectives and positions available for 21 more. The shortage meant work was being done by investigators who had not qualified as detectives.

In the Counties-Manukau district, the backlog of files became a political issue in April when it was revealed there were 1300 unassigned cases. That is now down to 610.

Mr Jones said Auckland City had operated a prioritising system like the one set out in the report for the past four years. "In an ideal world we'd like to investigate to the nth degree every crime reported but the fact of the matter is we can't, we never have and I can't see us ever being able to," he said.

Ideally, criminals such as Bell were targeted after being identified by the police intelligence unit, which focuses on crime hotspots and repeat offenders. Mr Jones said it made sense to target offenders ahead of targeting offences.

Police Association president Greg O'Connor said officers would be heartened that a police manager was admitting there was a problem.

"I'm optimistic that we are entering a new phase, especially with 1000 cops coming on stream."

He said the backlog existed elsewhere in the country, but was worse in Auckland.

Police Minister Annette King said frontline numbers had increased by 1400 since 1999.

Auckland had benefited significantly and would again with the addition of the promised 1000 police.

The public expected crimes endangering people to get priority, but "we can and must continue to do better across a range of community needs in terms of policing".

National Party police spokesman Simon Power said the report demonstrated "the complete failure" of former Police Minister George Hawkins to put the case to the Cabinet for adequate resources.

Auckland Chamber of Commerce head Michael Barnett and Alex Swney, chief executive of Heart of the City, a lobby group representing more than 5000 city ratepayers, said they were aware property crime was a low priority.

Mr Barnett said the most vulnerable were small business owners who could go under because of shoplifters and fraudsters.

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Police priorities


Mandatory services include:


* Responding to ministerial correspondence
* Responding to parliamentary questions
* Sudden deaths

Critical services include:


* Home burglaries
* Homicide
* Serious drug offences

Priority services include:


* Vehicle theft
* Family violence
* Child abuse
* Robbery


Discretionary services include:


* Commercial burglaries
* Theft from cars
* Company fraud
* Shoplifting