The Police Association say the restrictions are already causing backlogs and delays and will make it harder for the Government to implement its “tough on crime” policy agenda.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell said he has been briefed on measures police are introducing, which he said is to ensure financial sustainability.
“I have made my expectations of police very clear around financial sustainability and am confident that they can and will deliver on those,” Mitchell said.
Police have confirmed cost-saving efforts were implemented late last year and include indefinite restrictions on recruiting non-constabulary staff - “with the exact details of these restrictions changing over this period”, police said in a statement.
“At this stage there is no defined end date for these restrictions.”
Mitchell confirmed front-line cops are not subject to the hiring restrictions and the Government still intends to deliver 500 extra police officers over the next two years.
But Police Association president Chris Cahill says the restrictions amount to a freeze, which looks set to continue into the next financial year.
Cahill pointed out non-sworn staff include those who answer 111 and 105 calls and the people who prepare police files for court.
”If [these jobs weren’t] being done by non-sworn staff, it would take police officers off the street.”
Police Association president Chris Cahill. Photo / NZME
He said delivering 500 extra police officers during an ongoing hiring freeze of non-sworn staff is like “robbing Peter to pay Paul”.
“Even if you get them, if it means that actually they’re just filling gaps because front-line staff are doing backroom jobs, then you’re not really getting those people on the front line.”
Cahill said the Government’s other promises around targeting gangs will be harder to deliver without the necessary backroom support.
“We’ve seen this Government come in, they’ve said they’re going to get tough on crime and they’re doing all these initiatives... they’re all falling on police to deliver.
“Obviously they haven’t come to the party with a pay deal at the moment... and then add in to that we’re looking to lose more staff, it’s not creating an environment in which police feel they’re able to deliver on those promises to the Government.”
The Government campaigned on a package of tough law and order policies at the election following a rise in gang violence and a spike in youth crime and ram raids.
New measures being introduced include banning gang patches in public places and creating greater powers to stop gangs gathering in groups and communicating.
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee has also announced an expansion of the Firearms Prohibition Order regime, allowing police to conduct warrantless searches on gang members they suspect of having an illegal fire arm.
Police have voiced concerns about the extra workload these new rules will create, which are also likely to flame tensions between gang members and front-line police.
Labour’s police spokeswoman Ginny Andersen said recruitment restrictions put pressure on the Government’s promise of 500 extra police officers.
“The rough formula is that for every four police officers, you need roughly one person to make that work -- the current way it works is about that,” Andersen said.
“Otherwise you see police officers off the street doing paperwork. And that’s frustrating for them and also frustrating for members of the public who want to have quick responses.”
Labour police spokeswoman and former Police Minister Ginny Andersen. Photo / Mike Scott
Police say as at October 2023, the workforce had 10,778 constabulary staff and 4794 non-constabulary employees who are divided into Operational - Public Facing, Operational Support and Corporate Support roles.
Briefing documents to Mitchell in December, released under the Official Information Act, say the total police workforce has grown by more than 3600 fulltime equivalent staff (FTEs) over the past six years - including 526 in corporate support functions.
“Forty four percent (232) of this growth has been necessary to enable the same service levels to be provided to the larger overall workforce,” the documents state.
“These corporate functions will be an important and necessary enabler to support the Government’s priority of recruiting an additional 500 new front-line police in the next two years.”
Sophie Trigger is a Political Reporter for Newstalk ZB, based at Parliament. She joined the Press Gallery in 2022 and has been at NZME since 2020. Previously she has worked for the New Zealand Herald and Stuff.
