NEWS

The election campaign promise comes in the wake of Ms Wong’s concern that private security officers may be hired for public service in Manukau.

Last month Manukau City councillors decided that the use of private security guards for community safety patrols should be considered in the 2009/2019 long-term council community plan (LTCCP). An estimated $2.8 million would fund three teams of five guards deployed across the city.

However, as the result of the National pledge, and with an implied assumption that National will become the next government, councillor Michael Williams says the council would be able to scale back the $2.8m to a more modest amount, sufficient to equip voluntary groups such as Botany Crime Watch Patrol, Maori Wardens and the newly-formed Asian Community Patrol.

Only 210 (21 per cent) of the 1000 new sworn police officers recruited under the Labour-NZ First agreement have been posted to general frontline duties, claims National leader John Key.

“We will boost overall police numbers so there is one officer for every 500 people and we will keep this ratio as the population grows,” says Mr Key.

Six hundred new police officers will be trained from next January to the end of 2011.

“National will ensure the tail-end of the current Government’s extra 1000 police are frontline personnel and we will top up the numbers with additional recruits each year.”

In a letter to Police Commissioner Howard Broad in September, Ms Wong wrote that many Botany residents had expressed objection and concern about Manukau’s private security plans, having contributed towards law and order resources through taxes.

Times reader AFL James of Bucklands Beach wrote that it would be a dangerous precedent for councils to make up for government inadequacy by providing security patrols for the city, as it would be to have non-police personnel taking responsibility for the streets. The suggestion would inevitably lead to another rates hike.

Ms Wong asked Commissioner Broad whether the police thought there were gaps in ensuring community safety that warranted extra council spending, and what would the police do about finding out where and how the council planned to spend $2.8m on private security patrols that may overlap with police operations?

She believed that safety checks should be made on private security firms.

Commissioner Broad replied saying the police would endeavour to come to an arrangement with the council about the nature and extent of interaction, should it continue with the concept.

“We have quite a number of community patrols that are active in south Auckland, be they Community Patrols NZ, the Maori Wardens or Pacific Wardens,” he said.

“But the community patrols that we have in south Auckland and elsewhere do seem to deal with the small issues that have an impact on the public’s self belief about ‘community’ and yet are issues that the police struggle to deal with because of the attention required on more urgent matters or those of perceived greater importance.”

Mr Williams, a National Party member, adds: “While I have trust and confidence in our hard-working police, I believe there are opportunities to increase their efficiency by providing them with improved systems, processes and technologies and to get an optimum mix of frontline and support staff.”