Protesters gluing their hands to motorways and blocking traffic to demand the Government “restore passenger rail” must have been annoying for the Wellington public. I reckon the general populace are well and truly over the disruption caused by protests.

The media reported that this group was going to taking a “break” from their current style of protesting. Maybe they had seen how the French police dealt with activists who glued their hands to the road. Ouch!

The recent dismissal of the Crown appeal in relation to the home detention penalty given to a convicted rapist made my blood boil, again. I remember being told by my sergeant in the early days of my career that our job is to get offenders to court with all the evidence and then let the justice system take over.

I can’t get over the pain the feds must feel after spending countless hours, days, weeks and months investigating these heinous crimes just to see the offender get sent home to watch Netflix for a few months. Not to mention how the victims must feel.

Even a High Court judge agreed the sentence was wrong. Our jobs mean more than just the prosecution file. We are invested in these cases, for the victims and for our communities. I feel let down by this result.

Please tell me what I’ve been told is incorrect – $52 million spent on consultants at PNHQ in the past year? I’m all for hiring an expert every now and again, but $52m? How many constables would that equate to?

The situation is not helped by the churn of senior managers resigning on Friday then returning on Monday as a “consultant”. The position they left will probably be filled by another manager and then the consultant rocks up, getting paid considerably more than the Police manager for doing the same or a lesser role.

I’d rather have the constables, thanks.

We are struggling to fill our rural stations.

A lot are being staffed from the closest “main” station, which is costing time, money and a loss of rural community engagement. Our rural cops living in their communities are gold, pure and solid, and any move by managers to “streamline” rural policing is shortsighted.

On top of that, it’s been reported to me that some of our Police houses have black mould, making them uninhabitable. It’s 2022, for crying out loud! No Police house should be in that condition. It’s irresponsible.

How about hiring fewer consultants, pay to get those houses sorted and get rural cops back where they belong?

To Constable Sophie Allison and Detective Constable Jeremy Toschi, recipients of this year’s Police Association Bravery Awards, we are all very proud of you both. You saved lives that day and put yours in danger by doing so. We are honoured by your courage and selfless actions.

This column is written by a frontline police member. It does not represent the views or policies of the Police Association.