Police let fingers do the walking

A senior Waikato officer says police are no longer attending reported burglaries in the city but calling victims by phone and asking for information and evidence before deciding whether to turn up.

He said the decision was a new initiative which meant statistically Hamilton police looked like they were attending burglaries in a matter of hours of them being reported, but the reality was they were phoning home-owners.

"A home-owner can't provide that information over the phone. A police officer needs to attend for it to be properly investigated."

Waikato police communications manager Kris McGehan confirmed one staff member had been designated to investigate burglaries.

"That officer will phone the burglary complainant as soon as possible to collect information about the burglary."

She said the officer took down information that was entered into the police system and a decision was made about whether to send out staff.

The aim was to provide a more efficient and quicker response to burglaries. Another senior officer said the situation "irked" him.

"What's next - taking out an advert asking can the guy who robbed number 39 on this date please contact the police station and see us?

"We're paid investigators ... If you don't attend the scene of a crime, how can you investigate it?"

He said such policies were lowering public opinion of police. "It has to be a case for more staff."

Waikato acting district commander Superintendent Pieri Munro said the policy came down to a resourcing issue with Hamilton running below its numbers.