Jan Tinetti Labour MP

The Government has delivered on its commitment to put an extra 1800 cops on the front line, including an extra 134 police across the Bay of Plenty region with the graduation of Police wing 366 from the Royal New Zealand Police College.

The Government promised in 2017 that we would deploy 1800 more Police across New Zealand following years of cuts under the previous government and we have now delivered on that promise. This 1800 increase, including the additional 134 across the Bay of Plenty, is a 20% increase since we came to Office in 2017. This is fantastic news for our region as our local Police, along with every Policing district in New Zealand, is better resourced than they were five and half years ago. In the nine years between June 2008 and June 2017, the total number of Police in the Bay of Plenty increased by only 9.65%. In the six years under this Government the number is up 20%.

At Budget 2023 we funded Police to lock in these gains to ensure the improved Police to population ratio we've achieved does not go backwards again. With the addition of 1800 extra cops, there is now one officer for every 480 New Zealanders, compared with one for every 545 New Zealanders in 2017.

As a locally based MP I'm proud to be part of a Government that is committed to properly resourcing our police and supporting them in tackling crime, including retail, youth, and violent crime.