Steve Watt: Police Association President on Richard Chambers setting 2026 policing targets

The Police Association says when it comes to new policing targets, the devil will be in yet-to-be-confirmed detail. 

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers has announced four new targets, including raising New Zealanders trust and confidence from 69 to 80-percent.

It follows the force taking a major hit in the wake of the McSkimming scandal. 

Association President Steve Watt told Ryan Bridge it's good to have goals, but information is scarce. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers set out new twenty twenty six targets.
This is to lift public trust in police. He wants
eighty percent confidence in the force, eighty percent satisfaction and
how they deal with the public, and a fifteen percent
drop in public violence and retail crime. Steve, what is
Police Association President with me this morning? Steve?

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Good morning, Maudena, Thanks for having me, But so a
bit of.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
A jump that's needed. Sixty nine percent currently trust and
confidence in police? Can you do that?

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Do you Reckon? Oh? Look, we absolutely can. And it's
good to have goals and set challenges. I mean, who
wouldn't want to achieve eighty percent of New Zealanders having
trust and confidence in the police. It's something that we
all strive for. What we need to know is sort
of the detail behind that. Our members want to know.

(00:45):
How are we going to get there? What's the details
that's what's lacking at the moment.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Must be a bit frustrating for frontline because it's actually
top brasss that's been doing more damage than they have.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yeah, it's important to note that our members are doing
it pretty tough there at the moment. They're facing ridicule
from the public as a result of what's happened out
of the mixicim in case, and that's really tough on
the membership. So you know, a focus has to be
on them and building that trust, and focus on building
the relationships between the executive and the constaborary employees. If

(01:18):
we're going to have any chance of having these targets, what.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
Sort of ridicule are they getting.

Speaker 2 (01:25):
Oh, look, there's taunts out there from the public. There's
all sorts, really, but you know that is from a
limited few of the public. But our members are seeing it.
They are facing it. You know, we've got front facing front,
counter staff, one O five staff, ow can Stabburary out
there on the beat. They're all suffering a bit of

(01:45):
taunting and a bit of a bit of jib as
a result of this.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
It sucks. There's always going to be a portion of
society who will never trust police no matter what you do.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
Right there is that to consider, and you know, not
everyone's happy with us and what we do, but ultimately
it's about getting out there, you getting into those crimes,
you stopping those burglaries. That's where we build the trust
and confidence, and that's where the vast majority of New
Zealanders see policing and that's where they build that trust

(02:16):
and confidence from seeing what our members are doing out
there every day.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
Part of the problem I think for police as being
actually the justice system. So you guys have been holding
up your endo the bargain and then they go through
the justice system and it's a wet bus ticket. Is
that something that frontline offices actually find annoying?

Speaker 2 (02:37):
Look, it is tough. We are seeing more people heading
to prison, more people heading to jail. We are seeing
some sentences that are that are appropriate and good, but
there's still some work to do there in the judicial
system just to make sure that the effort that our
members are putting in is reflecting these sentences that are

(02:57):
being handed out.

Speaker 1 (02:58):
Appreciate your time this morning, Steve Steve Watt, Police Association President,
on those new targets that chambers are set for. More
from Early edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen live to News
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