Nat/act/nzf 2023

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I remember reading this article and thinking someone will die if police pull back from family harm call-outs.

Advocates say police's intentions to withdraw from family harm callouts will only cause more harm.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/...-harm-callouts 12 February 2024

In a recent briefing to incoming Police Minister Mark Mitchell, the police department proposed a managed withdrawal from what it considered non-crime social problems.
Police said it had been forced to step in when it came to family harm, mental health, and child protection calls due to a lack of other social services. It proposed a change that would involve withdrawal from some of those callouts over time and advocating for that role to be filled by others.

But it said more than half of its family harm investigations did not involve an offence being recorded.
Women's Refuge chief executive Ang Jury said she could not see any other agency that could step in and take the role of police. And if offences were not being recorded at family callouts, Jury said that was not necessarily because they did not exist. She said a prime example was breaches of protection orders.
"Breaches of protection order are an offence. Yet the vast majority of them are never result in a charge. That doesn't mean to say they shouldn't."

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said its attendance to family harm callouts had increased 80 percent in 10 years.
That meant police time was being consumed in homes and away from the public places where people wanted to see them, he said.
"What we're signalling here is that our policy of mandatory attendance at every family harm event, regardless of whether any violence or criminal activity has been signalled is not sustainable for us."

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06 December 2023 The Minister of Police has issued new expectations for the Commissioner of Police in accordance with section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008.
The Public Service Commissioner supports the Minister of Police in the issuing of expectations. The Minister of Police and Commissioner of Police agreed to release the letter of expectations on the Public Service Commission's website.

https://www.publicservice.govt.nz/pu...oner-of-police

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National has had a "refocus" of police work.
National wants to see a strong focus on public safety and victims, while ensuring there are real consequences for crime and serious offending.
National’s police policy change focuses on crime in public places, especially inner city crime prevention and enforcement in CBD areas of major cities and focuses on stranger danger.

Someone at risk of harm in the privacy of their own home from someone they know such as from domestic violence or mental health issues or child protection issues is not considered a police priority. Police should not be the primary responders to non-crime social problems such as mental health crises, homelessness, and other community issues.

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said its attendance to family harm callouts had increased 80 percent in 10 years.
That meant police time was being consumed in homes and away from the public places where people wanted to see them, he said.

The National Party has announced plans to add 300 more frontline police officers over four years, with a specific focus on inner-city crime prevention and enforcement. This policy aims to address the perceived increase in crime in downtown and CBD areas of major cities like Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Hamilton.

National plans to scrap what they call Labour's "policing by consent philosophy" and instead encourage a "back-to-basics policing model". This new approach would emphasize highly visible beat and patrol officers, building relationships with local shop owners and retailers, increasing contact and interaction with the public, deterring anti-social behavior and street violence, reassuring urban communities.

The party has highlighted several crime types they want police to prioritize:

• Youth offending, including ram raids
• Violent aggravated robberies
• Assaults occurring in broad daylight
• Gang-related activities, including firearm incidents

By proposing these changes, the National Party aims to increase visible police presence in urban areas and focus on crimes that they believe are of particular concern to the public and business owners.

The approach emphasizes building stronger relationships between police and the local community and officers are expected to interact more frequently with the public, building relationships with local shop owners and retailers, working closely with the community to address safety concerns.