Podcasts Other The Mike Hosking Breakfast Mike's Minute: 1,800 cops isn't the victory the Government think it is

Mike's Minute: 1,800 cops isn't the victory the Government think it is

Published: June 1, 2023, 10:19 p.m.

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Was it a hollow victory? Indeed, was it a victory at all?

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The Government made much yesterday of the latest police graduation. The Prime Minister was there and the Prime Minister isn\'t normally there. But when there\'s an election to be fought and some headlines to be gained Chris Hipkins couldn\\u2019t miss it.

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The 1,800 new police have become famous. Or infamous.

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Was it 1,800 new recruits? Was it a net 1,800 gain? Was it a promise made for three years, or the almost six it turned out to take?

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Most importantly of all, does it solve the issue?

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That, is an indisputable no.

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Trainspotters might remember it was in fact a New Zealand First idea as part of the 2017 coalition.

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And one could ask whether Labour, if in Government alone then and given their now disastrous approach to crime, would they have ever even entered into any sort of recruitment drive?

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Six years on and they find themselves between a rock and a hard place. Crime, and its rampant nature, is this election\'s number two issue.

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Even if they try and blame the world, and wars, and Covid for the cost-of-living crisis, which is our number one issue, they can\'t hide from the crime mess they have engineered.

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Mind you, it\'s not like they haven\'t tried. From the top down, crime has been their Achilles heel.

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Look at the way they have treated the portfolio - from Poto Williams and Andrew Coster, a hopelessly, idealistic dabble in kumbaya by our most famous handwringer Jacinda Ardern, to the Stuart Nash chaos, to Hipkins stepping in through lack of talent, to Ginny Andersen being promoted a mile beyond her skill set.

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All the while their great fall back, as the crime stats exploded, was 1,800 more police.

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It became a mantra; a desperate one-liner of hope that, just maybe, when this magic number was reached, things would be OK.

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Well, they are not. Or anywhere close.

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It is a classic example of a promise made, but delivered way too late. Indeed, when it was delivered, it turned out not to be what they thought it would be.

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Does it help? I\'m sure it does because any increase helps. But is it a success?

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Has it addressed the issue they set out to address?

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Not even close.

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