The numerous east Aucklanders who have been the victim of crime in recent years will be hoping the new Police Minister’s letter of expectations to Police Commissioner Andrew Coster has the intended result.
Among the local businesses targeted by thieves since 2020 are gas stations, jewellery stores, a sushi shop, a pizza restaurant, dairies, vape stores, bakeries, and supermarkets, among numerous others.
Now Mark Mitchell has issued a rare public letter to Coster, who was appointed to his role in 2020 by then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, outlining his expectations around law and order.
“I have been open about the fact I do not agree with the direction policing has taken under the previous Government and I expect the Police Commissioner to focus on core policing with a back-to-basics approach,” Mitchell says.
“I want people to feel safe on their streets, in their homes, and in their workplaces.”
Mitchell has been a regular visitor to east Auckland in recent years.
He addressed a public meeting on law and order in Howick alongside Pakuranga MP Simeon Brown in June last year, spoke on the same issue at another public meeting in Botany in August this year, and was the special guest at Brown’s local campaign launch in September.
Mitchell says gangs have become more violent and present in the community, intimidating the public and taking over public roads and spaces, and such behaviour needs to stop.
His public letter to Coster outlines the changes the Government intends to make on law and order in its first 100 days in office.
They include banning gang patches, stopping gang members from gathering in public, stopping known gang offenders from communicating with each other, giving police more power to search gang members for firearms, making gang membership and aggravating factor at sentencing, and beginning work to crack down on serious youth offending.
It also states Mitchell’s expectation for frontline officers to be the priority when decisions are made around investment and allocation of resources.
He tells Coster the Government is introducing a range of new legislative tools and powers to disrupt and crack down on crime.
“I expect police to be using the full force of the law and the tools and resources it has available, to significantly disrupt gang and organised crime within communities across New Zealand.
“I expect to see an immediate and sustained focus to deliver results in this area by police.”
Mitchell says he wants police to continue a strong focus on targeting youth crime to ensure violent youth offenders are held accountable for their actions.
Police should be focused on “core policing in and around communities”, which includes being highly visible and providing public assurance.
The safety of frontline officers is paramount and a key priority for him and the Government will ensure offenders who harm police “face real and serious consequences for their actions”.
Mitchell ends his letter to Coster by saying he expects him to regularly report on his progress to deliver against the set expectations.
