Editorial: Police job cuts will be felt

It's Groundhog Day for the police as they once again stare down the barrel of job losses.

Police Commissioner Peter Marshall has revealed he needs to slash 125 jobs nationally to find about $470 million over the next four years to pay for a 3 per cent wage rise and other inflationary pressures.

It's not yet known how many of those jobs will come from Rotorua.

Police don't believe the job losses will be too difficult to deliver on because there are 75 non-sworn vacancies nationwide. Others who leave may not be replaced.

It comes as police were starting to get to manageable staffing levels following harsh restructuring in the 1990s which saw frontline numbers dwindle and community police stations close.

Economic conditions have now forced these job cuts.

The upshot is police are a government organisation and the Government is broke. Everyone needs to tighten their belts, including the police.

Mr Marshall has pointed out no constable, or civilian police staff, will lose their jobs and, he says, police will in fact continue to increase frontline resources.

I guess that's great. But what about the jobs the non-sworn staff do? Who does that? We assume sworn staff will have to take up those duties - so theoretically the frontline will be impacted.

You can't take away 125 jobs and not expect there to be a difference in service.

So let's not pretend any different.

As years go by, police management gets increasingly political as they try to make things look rosy.

It seems the perception of crime is more important than the reality of it.

If crime rates go up, say so. Police can not continue to do more with less.