Kerre Woodham: I don't want to hear anyone putting the boot into police over their target times

Newsroom reported on its website yesterday that targets or output measures for issues such as the time taken for police to respond to traffic emergencies and burglaries have been dramatically adjusted.

Police have twice as long to get to emergency events in urban areas, 45 minutes in town, 60 minutes in rural areas, and they are required to respond to fewer burglaries within 48 hours.

In a briefing from police provided to then Police Minister Stuart Nash, the Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming said demands on the force had grown, therefore the targets needed to be readjusted.

The time taken to attend emergency events in urban areas 90 percent of the time has been increased to less than 45 minutes because last year's target of 20 to 25 minutes wasn't met.

For rural events, the measure was increased to less than 60 minutes from 45 minutes last year.

Last year’s standard was that 98 percent of burglaries would be attended by police within 48 hours. This year, that's been reduced to greater than 85 per cent.

Police dubbed the previous standard aspirational.

Police have been warning demand is outstripping their resources with increased mental health and family violence callouts alongside emerging crimes such as cyber-crime taking up far more time.

As well, there are easier and more diverse ways to report crime, but it really is the mental health and the family violence that's taking up police time as the Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming told Tim Dower this morning.

Honestly, when you think of the waste of money and the opportunities lost and the flow and effect - as Jevon McSkimming said - of police having to deal with it because there hasn't been an increase in the workforce to enable the burden of assisting those with mental health conditions to be spread across many more shoulders.

We had the lovely young woman who rang and who said she can only take Maori and Pasifika patients now, and those under 18, because there aren't enough counsellors available for the need - and even if you wanted to go private, you couldn't because there aren't any private ones as well. 

I am not going to be bashing the police for having to reconsider their response times.

If anybody thinks for one wild second that the response times haven't been met because the police have had their feet up on the table, back at base eating doughnuts, watching Netflix, you are delusional.

These men and women are working every hour God sent doing their job, doing this job of social workers, doing the job of mental health counsellors, doing the job of bloody parents who are woefully failing their own children.

So anybody who wants to put the boot into police for failing to meet their target times, don't ring me.

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