There was a lot of nodding in the audience as Little told them what they clearly already knew, that there are fewer cops today than there were two years ago even though the population's grown by two hundred thousand. In that time the crime stats have grown along with the population, like burglaries at 50 a day with just one in 20 being solved.
Currently the number of cops as a ratio to population stands at one to 528. Labour's recruitment will see it coming back to one to 500, which at that number is nothing to be proud of.
No one wants to live in a police state but people have a right to feel safe and our ratio of cops is low by international standards. The ratio in downtown Brisbane for example is one to 160 people.
In the United States it's generally around the same with even the holiday destination for some of us, Honolulu, having around twice as many cops to look after their population as we do.
Think about this. When was the last time you saw a cop on the beat in this country but when was the last time you saw one on a country road pointing a speed camera at you?
Okay getting the road toll down is important but so too is getting to the bottom of crime and that takes resources.
We'll hear Winston Peters cop number bid today which will up Labour's anti to eighteen hundred and we now await the Government's bid. With a chest beating $1.8 billion surplus, surely there's now enough cash in the kitty for more cops.
Barry Soper is the Political Editor for Newstalk ZB