Staffing numbers on the front line dominated delegate reports to the 90th Police Association annual conference in October.

Brian Swann (Northland) warned that some areas faced “fatigue-related issues” from staff travelling further to ensure all sites were covered. He suggested designating the area hard-to-fill and offering incentives to work there such as accelerated pay steps.

Kirk Glentworth (Mid Far North) painted an even starker picture, saying the staffing situation was “the worst” he had seen it. He said public safety teams (PST) in the Mid-North had 17 deployable staff – the resource allocation target (RAT) is 35.

The story was similar in Auckland City. Chris Gwilliam called the front line “a bit of a myth”, saying most teams were carrying their workload on reduced numbers. “Our RAT hasn't moved in many, many years, which is putting a burden on our frontline teams, who struggle with their workload operations.”

Nell Hendrix (Auckland) backed that up: “Our beat and community teams… are almost running on empty. They’re 50% below their staffing levels.”

In Counties Manukau, Tim Harnett said the region was constantly understaffed for the level of demand, leading to some crimes not being investigated. He was also concerned about the legal and performance ramifications when decisions were made by staff without enough experience.

Inexperience was also a problem in Eastern Bay of Plenty, said Helen Hay. Losing 43 staff in the past 12 months had led to “very inexperienced staff going to CIB” and it was causing problems.

Lee Fredrick said the number of inexperienced staff on frontline duties in Rotorua was disconcerting. “When you see acting sergeants who you think have only just been there 10 minutes, it's a little bit scary.”

Cody Shaw said Horowhenua was now one of the fastest-growing areas in the country yet it still ranked among the top three for family harm and methamphetamine consumption. Despite the obvious pressure, staffing levels remained significantly depleted.

Joshua Eichmann said Waikato Rural was struggling with severe resource limitations and long response times because of the vast area they covered, coupled with a lack of specialist support. He said officers could wait 90 minutes for tactical units and “we can't get Eagle at all”. “The communities expect us to attend jobs, but we don't get there for sometimes two hours, and that's with lights and sirens.” He asked whether it was time to introduce general arming.

Staffing pressures were also mounting in Palmerston North despite new recruits arriving “every couple of weeks”, Jonathan Redley said. The region had lost at least 23 officers since January, some with more than 40 years’ experience. The departures represented a significant loss of knowledge and capability, he said.

Not everything was doom and gloom. Committees are getting stronger, training backlogs are being cleared and some districts are seeing recruitment gains.

Carl Zimmerman said Tauranga/Western Bay of Plenty did not have a problem attracting people, while Wayne Dickson (Taupō) was pleased to report that a small number of staff had returned from Australia, because of the “culture [and] camaraderie” back home.

Blair Dalton said Otago Coastal had welcomed several new staff as had Southland. Jamie Cook said: “We’ve had 23 new staff in the past 12 months – a mix of recruits and “retreads”.

And Tairāwhiti’s Brent Griffiths said they were “probably in a better position than we've been for quite a while… our staffing, particularly recruitment and retention, is on the rise”. He said vacancies in CIB had dropped from 12 to only one.

Meanwhile, Lucy Schwaner was pleased to report the Piki Ki Te Ao committee was in good hands and reiterated that it was vital that Police employees maintained a strong voice at conference.

‘Let’s put paid to delays'

A number of issues were raised over pay and conditions.

Blair Dalton (Otago Coastal) said overtime payments hadn't been going as smoothly as hoped for since paid overtime was introduced. Some members were not paid because of data-input errors and, at times, payroll was almost impossible to contact: “There's no cellphone number, there's no contact back and it takes months to resolve things.”

Others were also frustrated. Monique Dalley said overtime management in Wellington was “a massive issue”, saying delays were affecting morale “because people are effectively feeling very undervalued”. Some referred to payroll as a “ghost team”.

“Overtime for us is a massive thing” with too many hurdles, Waikato Rural’s Joshua Eichmann said, while Brent Griffiths (Tairāwhiti) said issues there were around administration, which sometimes left staff out of pocket for multiple pay cycles. He also said some officers were strictly adhering to rostered hours – even during serious operations such as homicides – potentially compromising critical inquiries in the first 36 hours.

On the flipside, Mike Eckersley (Hutt) said overtime in his area was under budget and approvals had not been an issue, while Rob Sherborne said logging overtime in Kāpiti Mana was “a bit hit-and-miss”.

Money matters and morale

Pay was another hot topic. Brian Swann (Northland) wanted to see “staff performing the same job receiving the same pay”. He cited anomalies where constables were paid as sergeants and senior sergeants but without the responsibilities of those at the rank.

At PNHQ, Rose-Anna Carroll said managers were often “trying to circumvent or ignore the collective agreements” and she warned of “constant restructures” creating uncertainty: “The atmosphere at PNHQ is very fragile. I've never seen it so down.”

Many said financial stress was biting. Nell Hendrix (Auckland) painted a vivid picture: “Our people are really struggling… one said that paying for parking alone was eating up 9% of their take-home pay”.

In Hawke’s Bay, Mike Godwin said the district’s “social supermarket” – where a family of four can buy a week’s groceries for $50 – was well frequented: “Disappointingly, quite a few of our staff are utilising it.”

Meanwhile, Sarah Tickelpenny (Royal New Zealand Police College) highlighted growing frustration over flexible working. The move to reassess work-from-home arrangements had “generated a lot of angst”, prompting many staff to apply for FEOs that then led to discrepancies over who was approved, increasing tension further.

The now-canned Canterbury review has also left its mark. Andy Williamson (Canterbury Rural) said the process was “astounding” – it proposed closing stations with “no public consultation”. Aoraki’s Ben Grant said the process was poorly handled and unnecessarily stressful.

From leaks to mould

Infrastructure woes were a recurring theme, although Waitematā’s Lorraine McMurtie said the new North Shore custody unit was “absolutely brilliant” and Rachel McBride (Waitākere) said her region had celebrated a small win: “Happily, we can say that the [leaking] skylights in our ceiling have finally been fixed.”

Craig Berquist from Waikato City was elated that maintenance had been carried out there: “Our buildings are now watertight, which is awesome.”

However, others continue to not be so lucky. Auckland City’s Chris Gwilliam said many stations “are run down, leaking or just not fit for purpose”, while Andrew Cobb was blunt when highlighting the asbestos warnings, water damage and 29% seismic ratings at Whanganui: “Our station is decrepit and outdated.”

Taupō’s Wayne Dickson shared a chilling story of a staff member getting sick from mould spores in Police housing. After medical tests confirmed the issue, Police spent $100,000 fixing the home.

Meanwhile, the lengthy closure of Greymouth station has meant porta-coms are still being used to keep operations running. Edsel Taylor said separating teams had “caused quite a disconnect”.

Association president Chris Cahill said promises of fixes from Police were often not kept and priorities frequently shifted. Some buildings were at the top of the list one day and replaced by others the next. He urged committees to “keep nagging and keep the pressure on”.

Final words

Natalie Boers, Christchurch: “We've got 10 and 11-year-olds stealing vehicles on the regular… they can make it through 15 to 20 vehicles in a 24-hour period.”

Richard Butler, Wairarapa: “Despite the commissioner’s intention of internal investigations being resolved quickly, that’s not what we've seen… one case has taken four years.”

Andrew Cobb, Whanganui: “We can't keep allowing inflation to erode our wages. If this means industrial action, then let's go… You have our backing. Go hard and fight the good fight.”

Greg Beer, Nelson (on the death of Lyn Fleming): “[It was] a bit of a horrible start for the new year… I'd like to thank those extra staff who came down to Nelson from around the country to allow us to grieve when we had her funeral. [We have] so much appreciation for that.”