The Government has announced a funding package to increase police numbers and address gang violence.
Police Minister Poto Williams said the Government is investing over $562 million over four years into police.
“Our first priority is increasing the number of police on the frontline. When we took office, turning around declining police numbers was our number one priority. Once we achieve our goal of an extra 1800 0olice officer later this year we will ensure numbers don’t fall away again by maintaining an ongoing ratio of one Police officer to every 480 New Zealanders.”
“In this budget we are investing $94 million into tackling gangs and organised crime with strong enforcement being essential whilst at the same time working with communities to address the social factors that lead to people joining gangs in the first place.”
“This will have a strong focus on enforcing the law while also preventing the harms caused by gangs and organised crime.
“We know Police are increasingly subject to gun violence. The package includes an extra $164.6 million operating and $20.7 million capital funding over four years to expand the highly successful Tactical Response Model which ensures Police are trained, equipped and supported to keep themselves and the communities they serve safer.”
“This includes funding for dog units so they have an AOS trained officer with them and more training venues where Police will receive improved tactical response skills.”
“The Government is committed to tackling increasing gun violence. Key to that was banning semi-automatic weapons and passing legislation that ensures it’s a privilege not a right to own a gun and restrict access to those who use them safely.”
“Funding of $208 million over four years will establish a new Firearms Business Unit within Police. The Unit will have oversight of implementing the significant and ongoing Arms Act legislative changes which overseas examples tell us are central to reducing gun crime over time,” Poto Williams said.
“We will be taking action to combat the recent rise in ram raids. Similar to the process that supported the installation of a thousand fog cannons in retail outlets, we will help high risk businesses protect themselves from ram raiders,” Poto Williams said.
