Police numbers climb by 1800: Government expected to announce target reached today

The Government is expected to reveal they have reached their promised 1800 extra cop milestone today. Photo / NZME

The Government is expected to announce it has reached the promised target of 1800 extra police officers, the Herald understands.

The announcement is due to take place during a police graduation ceremony in Porirua this morning, with officials hinting they will be celebrating a “significant milestone of the Government’s commitment to grow Police numbers”.

The Herald understands this milestone will be reaching its promise of 1800 net additional police officers. The promise was made in 2017 as part of the Labour-New Zealand First agreement.

Numbers from the Police Minister’s office obtained by the Herald showed police officer numbers in Auckland also grew 390 over the last six years, more than double the growth of the 10-year period prior.

It was only a few weeks ago Police Minister Ginny Andersen and National police spokesman Mark Mitchell locked horns in the House, the latter highlighting the Government was yet to meet the promised figures.

Earlier data, supplied to the Herald, indicated there had been a net increase of 1576 constabulary staff - sworn staff - between October 31, 2017 and November 30, 2022.

Mitchell earlier said this appeared to show there had been large staffing boosts in some Auckland and Wellington stations, while other regions saw no change or even lost staff. He maintained this backed up reports he received from frontline officers outside main centres that they felt under-resourced.

Anderson and Police Association president Chris Cahill rebutted this, explaining the data did not provide a completely accurate picture of how station staffing levels may have changed in the past five years, noting that staff listed as being in Wellington’s national headquarters could be based elsewhere in the country and others based in the two cities would be addressing crime on a national level.

In this year’s Budget, there was an allocation for an initial $50.8 million for population-based funding increases to ensure the gains of the past five and half years weren’t lost in terms of police numbers.

The new funding will ensure the current ratio of at least one officer to every 480 New Zealanders was maintained. The ratio in 2017 was one to 544, Anderson said.