Govt backs away from promised 500 new cops by November: 'Not a failure'
Police Minister Mark Mitchell says he's not hung up "on an arbitrary date" as the Government appears to back down on a target to recruit 500 new police by the end of November.
"It's not a failure, because the Government is committed to delivering 500 police officers, and that is what we'll do," Mitchell said, adding he was focused on hiring standards.
It follows a Q+A interview with Police Commissioner Richard Chambers, released today, where he said the coalition's "ambitious" targets for recruiting 500 new frontline officers would likely come in the "early part of 2026" instead of by the end of November.
The promise, written into National and New Zealand First's coalition agreement, has long been the subject of intense scrutiny by the opposition and the Police Association.
Richard Chambers speaks to Q+A about his vision for the force. (Source: Q and A)
When pressed for a date on Q+A, Chambers said: "I'm absolutely focused, obviously, on the end of November this year … it will be a challenge. We still work with that in mind, but it's more likely to be, I would say early part of 2026. I'm hopeful."
The Police Commissioner said the Government's goal was "ambitious".
"My staff are working incredibly hard to get as close to that as we can. But the reality is, in a market that is a bit tight, at times. We have some recruit processes that I think could be sharpened up in terms of their efficiency, but it's going to take a bit longer," he said.
"One thing I've said very clearly, is that I will not be compromising standards. I am not prepared to lower standards to allow people into the police and then have to deal with other issues, because they're not up to it. Simple as that."
The coalition agreed to introduce 500 new officers over two years, but Mitchell had a different timeline. (Source: 1News)
It comes after official police advice warned that the target might not be met until the middle of 2026. Last month, NZ First leader Winston Peters conceded that the coalition might be meeting the target "maybe a few weeks late".
The backdown on the issue came after a defiant stance from the Government in December last year. At the time, Associate Police Minister Casey Costello said that it remained "my commitment to absolutely achieve" the target.
"We've done the numbers. We've extrapolated out — if we fill the wings, we get the wings through college, then it's achievable,"
'It's not a failure' - Police Minister
Mitchell rejected a characterisation that the promise to deliver on the 500 new officers by the end of November had been a "failure", despite previously being committed to it.
(Source: 1News)
"We set a date of November 25 for the police to do that. We remain committed to delivering our 500 police officers, however, obviously, there have been a few things happen since then," he said, in response to media questions.
"The commissioner has obviously come out and clearly said that they may not be able to make the November 25 target. That was the target set by the coalition government.
"But we support the commissioner, and we support the fact that we want to focus on standards. We're not compromised on those but it takes a bit longer."
The Police Minister said police had asked for more training, which he agreed to, but which made it harder to meet the target.
"We've been very clear as a Government, and we support the commissioner also in his statements, that we are not going to compromise on standards," he said.
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"At the end of the day, it's for the commissioner and the police to deliver on those numbers, and they will do that. But we've all been very clear, we're not stuck up and hung up on an arbitrary date and compromising standards."
Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
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