Association President Chris Cahill accepts that community needs and priorities change over time, but the current proposal for delivery of rural policing the North Canterbury, Selwyn and Aoraki districts is robbing Peter to pay Paul. 

"We recognise the increased demand for a 24-7 response model in Selwyn and Rangiora, but this should not be at the expense of the highly valued contribution rural response officers make to their local communities," Mr Cahill says. 

"The benefit of rural staff to their communities is not always visible in Police statistics; rather consideration should be given to the ethos of the father of modern policing, Sir Robert Peel, that "the test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder and not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with them." 
 
Mr Cahill notes the proposal demonstrates the need for more officers in some of the country’s fastest growing communities at the very time Police is struggling to meet the government’s target of 500 extra police. 

"Canterbury district should take advantage of its ability to recruit officers in its area, thereby contributing to the 500-recruitment target while, simultaneously, avoiding the removal of officers from its rural areas," Mr Cahill says. 

He says without such an initiative this proposal will see the closure of police stations in Arthur’s Pass, Culverden, Rakaia, Pleasant Point and Saint Andrews. In other cases, officers will be replaced by rural liaison officers with an overall reduction in numbers. 

"Rural liaison officers were a positive initiative of New Zealand First’s Winston Peters, but they were always intended to be additional, not instead of dedicated community-based officers. I’d be surprised if Mr Peters, a champion of increasing police numbers, would support a reduced police presence in these rural communities," Mr Cahill says.  

"The association asks PNHQ to prioritise the resourcing of its extra staffing needs with new staff, not at the expense of rural communities."