Police Minister Mark Mitchell says he’s not hung up “on an arbitrary date” as the Government appears to back down on a target to recruit 500 new police by the end of November.
“It’s not a failure, because the Government is committed to delivering 500 police officers, and that is what we’ll do,” Mitchell said, adding he was focused on hiring standards.
It follows a Q+A interview with Police Commissioner Richard Chambers, released today, where he said the coalition’s “ambitious” targets for recruiting 500 new frontline officers would likely come in the “early part of 2026” instead of by the end of November.
The promise, written into National and New Zealand First’s coalition agreement, has long been the subject of scrutiny by the opposition and the Police Association.
Richard Chambers speaks to Q+A about his vision for the force. (Source: Q and A)
When pressed for a date on Q+A, Chambers said: “I’m absolutely focused, obviously, on the end of November this year … it will be a challenge. We still work with that in mind, but it’s more likely to be, I would say early part of 2026. I’m hopeful.”
The Police Commissioner said the Government’s goal was “ambitious”.
“My staff are working incredibly hard to get as close to that as we can. But the reality is, in a market that is a bit tight, at times. We have some recruit processes that I think could be sharpened up in terms of their efficiency, but it’s going to take a bit longer,” he said.
“One thing I’ve said very clearly, is that I will not be compromising standards. I am not prepared to lower standards to allow people into the police and then have to deal with other issues, because they’re not up to it. Simple as that.”
The coalition agreed to introduce 500 new officers over two years, but Mitchell had a different timeline. (Source: 1News)
It comes after official police advice warned that the target might not be met until the middle of 2026. Last month, NZ First leader Winston Peters conceded that the coalition might be meeting the target “maybe a few weeks late”.
The backdown on the issue came after a defiant stance from the Government in December last year. At the time, Associate Police Minister Casey Costello said that it remained “my commitment to absolutely achieve” the target.
“We’ve done the numbers. We’ve extrapolated out — if we fill the wings, we get the wings through college, then it’s achievable,”
‘It’s not a failure’ – Police Minister
Mitchell rejected a characterisation that the promise to deliver on the 500 new officers by the end of November had been a “failure”, despite previously being committed to it.
“We set a date of November 25 for the police to do that. We remain committed to delivering our 500 police officers, however, obviously, there have been a few things happen since then,” he said, in response to media questions.
“The commissioner has obviously come out and clearly said that they may not be able to make the November 25 target. That was the target set by the coalition government.
“But we support the commissioner, and we support the fact that we want to focus on standards. We’re not compromised on those but it takes a bit longer.”
The Police Minister said police had asked for more training, which he agreed to, but which made it harder to meet the target.
“We’ve been very clear as a Government, and we support the commissioner also in his statements, that we are not going to compromise on standards,” he said.
“At the end of the day, it’s for the commissioner and the police to deliver on those numbers, and they will do that. But we’ve all been very clear, we’re not stuck up and hung up on an arbitrary date and compromising standards.”
Speaking to Q+A, the Police Commissioner said the organisation currently has more than 10,200 officers and 330 recruits in training, with plans to open a new training campus in North Auckland next month to boost recruitment capabilities.
“Having a facility here in Auckland, our biggest city in the country, I know opens the door for those that want a career in policing,” Chambers said.
The Albany campus, operating under a long-term lease with Massey University, will begin training its first recruit wing on June 30, he said.
Chambers says the new facility will also host senior courses, increasing overall training capacity by freeing up space at the Porirua Police College.
Coster will take up his new role from November 11. (Source: 1News)
Chambers questioned in a wide-ranging interview
In the wide-ranging interview, Chambers rejected suggestions of institutional racism within the police force and was also questioned about his views on policing by consent.
When asked if institutional racism exists within the police, he responded: “No.”
Pressed further, the commissioner said: “Look, in my 30 years of policing, I have not personally seen an attitude toward Māori that I am concerned about in terms of values”.
He added that police had a strong commitment to work in partnership with Māori.
“I want to stay focused on the positive. I want to keep working really hard. We have a lot of things underway right now to strengthen our understanding of cultural competency across a whole lot of different cultures.
“In New Zealand, there’s a lot to be proud of. The statistics, as I say, they are what they are — that says to me, we’ve got to keep thinking about this”.
The Police Commissioner was also pressed about his stated pivot from “policing by consent” to focusing on “trust and confidence” in law enforcement.
“Policing by consent is not part of my vocabulary, frankly. I don’t believe that sufficient people actually understand what it means. I struggle with it, right?” he told Q+A.
“I don’t think too hard about policing by consent, because it’s something that I’ve personally been confused by. There’s not too many people that I’ve come across that understand what it actually means.
“Why not just talk about trust and confidence? Why try and confuse the landscape? Trust and confidence matters to the job of police — we need the support of communities. Internally, I’ve got a good feeling from my people.”
Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
