Centrist: Three more gang members than police — but 49,000 fewer victims

1News recently reported that there are “10,475 police officers and 10,478 gang members.”

Since the 2023 election, gang numbers have risen 13%, or 1208 more members, while police numbers have increased by 264. Labour’s Ginny Andersen called the new figures “a broken promise from the Prime Minister” and “an absolute failure”.

Yet on the same day, the New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey showed there were 49,000 fewer victims of violent crime in the year to October 2025 compared with the previous two years.

Bob Edlin: Hipkins gets chippy about the vetting system for Police promotions....

Hipkins gets chippy about the vetting system for Police promotions (and the reason why he might be blushing)

PoO recalled who was involved in the appointment process, when we noticed the RNZ headline that said:

Hipkins calls for more robust vetting after it failed to identify McSkimming’s behaviour

Kerre Woodham: The shoplifting directive is not a good look

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. You cannot go into an election promising to get tough on crime, win the election and vow to draw a line in the sand, declare war on the crims, and then issue a directive that police won't turn up to minor crime. To paraphrase supermodel Linda Evangelista, who famously said she wouldn't get out of bed for less than $10,000, it appears our coppers won't get out of their Skodas for less than $500.

Richard Eldred: Police Officers Told Not to Say “Black Sheep” or “Blacklisted” Over Racism Fears

Police officers have been told to avoid terms like “black sheep” and learn about “white fragility” in a Diversity, Equality and Inclusion reference guide at three constabularies. The Telegraph has the story.

A nine-page document, seen by the Telegraph, was published online in 2023 in a diversity, equality and inclusion reference guide for staff at Bedfordshire Police and Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire constabularies.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 26/11/24

Govt rolls out initiatives – but we must wait to enjoy the benefits – on housing, health and police

Plans to provide more social housing, plans to provide more doctors and nurses, and plans to relocate a police station…

These were among the initiatives announced by our hard-working ministers in the past day or so.

David Farrar: Did Labour break trust in Government?

This chart [below] uses data from the General Social Survey. As you can see trust in four vital government institutions increased slightly from 2016 to 2018. Since then it has plummeted for all four institutions. A movement of an entire point on a ten point scale is huge.

Jonathan Ayling Explains New Hate Speech Training for Police

Sean Plunket talks to Jonathan Ayling from the Free Speech Union who explains new hate speech training for police - on the Platform.

               Click to view

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 24/6/24

Ministers avoid mention of “boot camps” but media let us know their introduction is the aim of law and order announcement

Law and order has been to the fore of the latest bunch of ministerial announcements.

Police Minister Mark Mitchell and Associate Police Minister Casey Costello have welcomed the deployment of more police on the beat in Auckland’s central business district.

Heather du Plessis-Allan: The NSW Government is coming for our Kiwi cops

We've got to talk about the brain drain that’s going on.

Today, the NSW Government has announced it is going to come for our Kiwi cops. It's got a shortage of 1500 police, and they're extremely worried about it.

So the Chris Minns Government has announced it’s going to slash red tape, cut down the course time required by more than half and fast-track Kiwi cops into their force.

Heather du Plessis-Allan: Mark Mitchell was thrown under the bus today

I feel sorry for Mark Mitchell. He's been thrown under the bus and made to look silly today.

But I think he was just telling the truth, and I suspect we’re all going to find that out in about two years time.

So what’s happened is that the coalition agreement between National and NZ First promised that we would get another 500 police officers in the first two years of this Government.

Karl du Fresne: The Crewe murders revisited

No criminal case in New Zealand history has been more thoroughly worked over than the Crewe murders. The killing of Jeannette and Harvey Crewe (above) in their Pukekawa farmhouse in 1970 has been the subject of multiple trials, appeals, inquiries (including a royal commission), books, documentaries, countless newspaper and magazine articles and even a feature film. Could there be anything left to say?

Well, yes. Nothing startlingly new, necessarily – but The Crewe Murders: Inside New Zealand’s Most Infamous Cold Case, is still a gripping read.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 15/12/23

It’s Judith Collins, KC, (among other things) now – and here’s hoping she has noted what happened to Sir Francis Bacon

What does Judith Collins have in common with Sir Francis Bacon? Oh – and with former Labour cabinet ministers Sir Geoffrey Palmer and Martyn Finlay?

All served as Attorney-General in their respective countries, but Sir Francis, Sir Geoffrey and Finlay also were King’s or Queen’s Counsel.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 7/12/23

A question of confidence is raised by the Minister of Police, but he had to be questioned by RNZ to tell us he has it

It looks like the new ministerial press secretaries have quickly learned the art of camouflaging exactly what their ministers are saying – or, at least, of keeping the hard news out of the headlines and/or the opening sentences of the statements they post on the home page of the governments official website.

A statement from Police Minister Mark Mitchell says …

Karl du Fresne: The Christchurch mosques inquest: what we know so far

The inquest into the Christchurch mosque massacres has unexpectedly become a source of national shame and embarrassment.

A procession of witnesses has appeared before deputy chief coroner Brigitte Windley with evidence of a confused and chaotic response from police and ambulance services. New Zealand has no reason to feel guilty about the atrocity itself, which was the act of a lone outsider, but the failings of the first responders have come as a shock.

Perhaps the most damning revelation so far is that paramedics took half an hour to enter the Al Noor mosque, apparently because it was St John’s ambulance policy not to enter unsafe scenes.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 9/9/23

Govt invests in making Auckland CBD safer and (with $113.7m) in giving greater strength to disabled people

More evidence of a government belatedly burnishing its law-and-order credentials can be found in an announcement today from the Minister of Police and the Minister for Auckland Central.

Their glad tidings are that “Central and Local Government” are investing in a range of new measures to tackle low-level crime and anti-social behaviour in the Auckland CBD to complement a greater Police presence in the area.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 7/9/23

How Labour is trying to buff its image on the law-and-order front and woo farmers with tax changes

A raft of media headlines over the past few days highlights the challenge for a government hoping to be re-elected on the strength of its performance when it comes to keeping the community safe from criminals.

Among them:

Lindsay Mitchell: What's happening to at-risk children?

Police recorded 175,573 family harm investigations in the June year 2021/22 – a 47% increase from 2017. That’s just under 500 a day. Children are present at around half.

According to the latest NZ Police Annual report, "Assault on a person in a family relationship now represents around 66% of reported serious assaults and family harm calls for service are increasing at greater rates than others."

Garrick Tremain: Today's policing

 Here is Garrick Tremain's cartoon commentary on today's policing priorities! 

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 24/6/23

Police Minister declares the new firearms registry open for business – but it’s in the cross hairs of stuff ACT is gunning for

The one new announcement on the government’s official website today – to proclaim the digital Firearms Registry has begun operating – is matched on the Scoop website by a vow from the ACT Party to gun down the registry.

And in another statement on the Scoop site – this time from the National Party – the Minister of Police is challenged to clarify data she provided in a press release she issued earlier this month.

Her latest statement, of the “look what a great job we are doing” variety, has been posted here –

Point of Order: Buried beneath avalanche of new laws and bills there’s news from the Cyclone Taskforce

Whoa, there – we can’t keep up! Suddenly, the PM’s ministerial team has unleashed a slew of press statements.

Sixteen announcements have been posted on the Beehive website since our last check.

This burst of activity (we wondered) might be the result of them responding positively to having a team member red-carded.