Police pay: Senior gang leader backs payrise for frontline officers

Police officers campaigning for a pay rise – including those “struggling to put food on the table” - have received backing from an unlikely source: a senior Black Power member.

Denis O’Reilly - a lifetime Black Power member – has publicly backed the country’s sworn police officers to be recognised for the work they do, and the dangers they face, by being rewarded with a pay rise.

It comes as Police Association members are set to vote on a revised pay offer from the Government in the coming week after an initial offer was labelled as “insulting” by an officer who talked anonymously to the Herald.

O’Reilly said he fears that if police officers didn’t receive the pay bump they deserved, it would make the job increasingly unattractive and could lead to a drop in the quality and integrity of prospective recruits.

“In my view, it would be in everyone’s interests to pay the police well and have high-quality personnel in there,” O’Reilly told the Herald.

He said the Government had an “appetite” for police to “lock up” gang members.

And while he said the Government also wanted to increase police numbers, he didn’t believe there was “fair compensation for the police”.

“It might sound strange to hear me saying that,” he said.

“But you then end up with, ‘Who are they going to recruit?’. And if you are forcing that through [and saying], ‘We must meet this by our first hundred days’, or ‘We must meet by our first term’, you are going to recruit less-competent and less-capable policemen and women.

“And then you open yourself up to the vulnerability of corruption and bribes.”

Police bosses are already under pressure to retain officers amid higher wages and supposedly better work conditions offered across the Tasman.

O’Reilly said that decades ago, prison bosses carried out a recruitment drive to fill prison warden roles and got unsuitable candidates.

Black Power lifetime member Denis O'Reilly says not giving police a pay rise that matters could have big repercussions. Photo / NZME

“They got people who were not really suitable for that role, and [some] who were amenable to corruption,” O’Reilly said.

In response to O’Reilly’s comments, the Police Association said: “It is logical that paying police officers well and fairly assists in recruitment and retention of good-quality candidates.

“With respect to the pay negotiations, there is no update on last week - the detailed offer will be going to members for their vote in the next few days.”

Police Headquarters wouldn’t comment specifically on O’Reilly’s comments, with a statement issued to the Herald saying “parties are still in the bargaining process”.

The statement said police had made a new offer to staff after the Government “approved significant additional funding”.

“Unions have confirmed that they will shortly put the offer to a member vote,” the statement read.

It continued: “Police acknowledges the frustration felt by unions and their members in terms of the time it has taken to get to this point and thanks them for their patience but looks forward to continued engagement with unions to progress the offer.”

Last month the Police Association rejected a $5000 general wage rise.

The Herald reported on March 28 that the terms of the latest revised offer – which is being considered by the union and its members – suggested the Government managed to provide between $200-$250 million more for the offer, including paid overtime from July next year and a $1500 lump-sum payment in lieu of more back pay.

Australia is becoming an attractive proposition for New Zealand police officers due to higher wages and what they believe are better working conditions. Photo / Bevan Conley

Police Association president Chris Cahill has emailed its members, and also advised them he didn’t expect it would be possible to negotiate for more.

If members rejected the latest offer, the police pay wrangle would go to arbitration.

Cahill said the offer did not address all of the association’s claims but did now include a taxable $1500 lump-sum payment.

The second pay increase would be from July 1, 2024, instead of the previous proposal of September 1, 2024.

The Police Association has asked its members to vote on the offer “to give us a clear mandate to accept or reject it”.

“We aim to present the fully detailed offer to members for voting in the second week of April,” it said.

The Herald also revealed last month that a box in a Christchurch police station had been provided for the “discreet donation and collection” of non-perishable items for police staff “struggling to put food on the table”.

A box asking for 'discreet' donations of non-perishable items has been placed in a Christchurch police station.

Cahill told the Herald that he was aware that the local Police Association committee had established a collection box for food donations to assist colleagues who they understand “are struggling with current cost of living pressures”.

“This is a genuine local initiative but it has not been instigated by our national office. It demonstrates that the concerns we have raised about police staff struggling with the cost of living crisis is real.

“Police staff should not be in this position and I know the public will be concerned to hear this is the case.”

Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 30 years of newsroom experience.