Andrew Dickens: Cops on the beat is a no-brainer

Cops will stay on the beat in the Auckland CBD. 

The government will boost anti-crime measures across central Auckland with $1.3 million of funding as a result of the Proceeds of Crime Fund. 

The Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 enables New Zealand Police to seize money and assets that have been obtained directly or indirectly from the proceeds of crime. Once all legal matters are addressed, the recovered money is placed in the Proceeds of Crime Fund.

This latest move was announced by Auckland Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee an it's been greeted wholeheartedly by retailers and residents

It will see the new federal street station open 24/7.  That station will open in the middle of the year.

And of course, this is a good thing. My question was always why did we stop doing this in the first place?

The cop on the beat is a sign to one and all, citizens and criminals, that the police are in control of the streets, not the ratbags.

For me, it's the first thing the police would fund not the last. And that perception that it's important has been reinforced by the new funding coming from the Proceeds of Crime Fund and not the general budget.

My question is who thought no cops on the beat was a good idea in the first place? It's tempting to blame Andrew Coster and the last government who were soft on crime. But it' been going on far longer than that.

It's another example of public service being told to cut budgets and then cutting good stuff instead of bad.

And another thing about the funding. This is not just a problem for the Auckland CBD.  It's nationwide in cities and towns and suburban shopping centres.  What about them? 

We'll wait to see if the budget shows a changed emphasis. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Cops are going to stay on the beat in the
Auckland CBD. The government will boost anti crime measures across
Central Auckland with one point three million dollars worth of
funding as a result of the Proceeds of Crime Fund.
Now that Proceeds of Crime Fund caven in two thousand
and nine. It lets the New Zealand police seize money
and assets that have been obtained directly or indirectly from crimes,

(00:21):
and once all the legal matters are addressed, the recover
money is placed in the Proceeds of Crime Fund to
be spent. And the whole thing was announced by the
Auckland Minister Simmy and Brown, Minister for Everything and Associate
Justice Minister Nicole McKee, and it has been greeted wholeheartedly by
retailers and residents. It'll see the new Federal Streets Station
open twenty four to seven. By the way, that station

(00:43):
will open in the middle of the year. And of
course all of this is a good thing. My question
has always been why did we stop doing this in
the first place. The cop on the beat is assigned
to one in all citizens and criminals that the police
are in control of the streets, not the rat bags.
For me, it's the first thing the police should fund,
not the last. And that perception that it is not

(01:05):
important is just reinforced to me by the new funding
coming from the Proceeds of Crime fund and not the
general budget. And another question I have, who thought that
no cops on the beat was a good idea in
the first place. It's tempting to blame Cuddle's Costa in
the last government who was soft on crime. But it's
been going on far longer than that. It's another example

(01:26):
of public service being told to cut budgets and then
going and cutting the good stuff instead of the bad.
And one more thing about the funding. This is not
just a problem for Auckland. It's nationwide. It's in all
our cities and towns and suburban shopping centers. What about them. Well,
we're going to wait to see if the budget which
is forthcoming will show a changed emphasis. For more from

(01:50):
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