Public safety is a critical measure for the Government, given Mitchell staked his job on making New Zealanders feel safer after a year as Police Minister - a deadline that’s about two months away.
Labour is likely to prosecute Mitchell on this issue during Question Time in the House today as the party’s police spokeswoman Ginny Andersen is set to ask Mitchell about Kiwis’ expectation of safety.
On Sunday, Mitchell and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon celebrated new police data showing serious assaults within Auckland’s CBD had decreased by 22% in the period from January to July this year compared to the same period last year.
In August before last year’s election, Mitchell - then National’s police spokesman in Opposition - publicly promised to resign as Police Minister if he couldn’t make Kiwis feel safer in government after 12 months.
Labour police spokeswoman Ginny Andersen will be grilling Mitchell on the Government's efforts to reduce crime. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Today, two months from his deadline, Mitchell pointed to Sunday’s assault data as proof he was honouring his commitment.
“Probably the announcement on the weekend is a pretty clear indication that we’re getting the job done,” he said, noting crime still remained an issue across the country.
He claimed “great results” had come from more police foot patrols in Wellington and welcomed police’s current approach to gangs.
“I haven’t seen any headlines in the last eight months around gangs taking over towns or taking over public roads,” Mitchell said in a reference to such an incident in Ōpōtiki last year.
Yesterday, Luxon revealed the Government was performing poorly on its target to reduce the number of people experiencing violent crime by 20,000 by 2030. The number had actually increased by 30,000 as of June.
The data, from a national victims survey, could apply to incidents between July 2022 and June this year.
Mitchell acknowledged the data lag but wouldn’t comment on whether the statistics were a reflection of how safe people were feeling.
“I don’t know, all I can judge off is what I’m doing as a Police Minister and the results that we’re starting to deliver.”
Andersen, a former Police Minister under the previous Labour Government, was set to grill Mitchell on his results in today’s Question Time.
Mitchell would also likely reference the Government’s achievements when responding to a patsy question from National MP Dr Carlos Cheung.
In acknowledgement of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori/Māori language week, three questions were being asked in te reo.
One from Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick was directed at Luxon. The intentionally vague nature of the question meant Swarbrick’s question line would not be revealed until she was speaking in the House.
Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.
