Prime Minister Bill English wasted no time in identifying law and order as his main election year priority when he gave his State of the Nation speech in Auckland yesterday. All police districts would receive extra officers, with police deciding how many would go where, based on need, Mr English said. Labour leader Andrew Little said Mr English was playing desperate catch-up after Labour backed him into a corner. In May last year, Mr English signed off on a four-year freeze on police numbers, Mr Little said. They included higher attendance at home burglaries, seizing more assets from organised crime, reducing deaths from family violence and reducing reoffending by Maori.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 02, 2017 17:02 UTC