Ryan Bridge: Our new hope, wait, and see approach to policing in NZ

We've just adopted a hope, wait, and see approach to policing in this country. 

This at a time when crime is out of control, people don't feel safe in their own homes and on city streets. 150-thousand retail crimes were reported last year. 

Despite their best efforts, our cops are struggling to keep up and they've just been delivered a slap in the face by the government. 

The Police Association has lost its final-offer arbitration over pay increases, meaning the government won. 

Chris Cahill says he can now only "hope" that officers won't move to Aussie en masse, where pay is way higher and conditions much better. 

On the face of it, the offer actually looks pretty good. 

Along with a lump sum and overtime being paid —not to be scoffed at— the increases are actually 4% from July 1, back dated, and a further 4% from 2025. 

If we believe Adrian Orr and Co's predictions about inflation hitting the target 1-3% later this year, then the increase will actually beat inflation. 

Sounds alright, right? 

Not when you consider the crap sandwich they've been dealt the past few years. 

Under Labour inflation was as out of control, as was crime, running at 6-7%. 

During that time their annual pay increased only 3.5%. 

The Police Union says it basically had to suck it up and take the deal because if they went for more it might mean job cuts. 

So do we want fewer, higher paid cops or more lower paid cops? 

The reality is we might get the worst of both worlds if they up sticks and cross the ditch, we would have fewer police, and the rest would be feeling underpaid and overworked. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We've just adopted basically a hope, wait and see approach
to policing in this country. This at a time when
crime is out of control. People don't feel safe in
their own homes, they don't feel safe in city streets.
One hundred and fifty thousand retail crimes were reported last year,
one hundred and fifty thousand, and despite their best efforts,

(00:20):
our comps are struggling to keep up, and they've just
been delivered what I think is basically a slap in
the face for in terms of pay by the government.
The Police Association has lost its final offer arbitration over
pay increases, meaning the government. One Chris Carhill says he
can now only quote hope that officers won't move to

(00:41):
Australia en mass, where pay is way higher and conditions
are much better, well certainly in some states. On the
face of it, the offer actually looks pretty good, along
with a lump sum and overtime being paid, which is
not to be scoffed at. The increases are actually four
percent from July first backdated and four percent from July
twenty five. And if we believe Adrian Or and Coe's

(01:03):
predictions about inflation hitting the target of one to three
percent later this year. Then the increase that the police
get will actually beat inflation, which sounds pretty good, right,
not when you consider the shite sandwich that they've been
dealt in the past few years. Under labor inflation was
out of control. It was out as out of control
as crime. You could say. It was running at about

(01:23):
six to seven percent, and during that time police annual
pay increased only about three and a half percent. The
police union says it basically had to suck it up
take the deal because if they went for more, it
might mean job cuts. And we've just spoken to the
police minister. He says he wouldn't have let that happen.
But I mean, how do you know. So do we

(01:43):
want fewer higher paid cops or more lower paid cops?
The reality is that we might get the worst of
both worlds if they upsticks and cross the ditch, fewer
of them and the rest feeling underpaid and overworked. For
more from News Talk set B listen live on air
or online, and keep our shows with you wherever you

(02:05):
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