Law & Order

Police

The continued safety of our communities rest firmly on the capabilities and resourcing of our police. New Zealand First has and continues to advocate for a police workforce that has the necessary funding, training, and personnel so that our police can meet the challenges of our growing population, and adapt to the many needs of our communities in the modern age.

Policies

  • Commit to recruiting a further 1000 new frontline police alongside the 2335 new frontline police we have already trained since the last election
  • Review Police pay and conditions with the goal of achieving parity with the Australian Police
  • Ensure that there is staffing available to eliminate sole charge police stations
  • Focus on crime prevention and working with the community
  • Adequately resource community policing including Maori and Pasifika wardens, and Neighbourhood Watch
  • Conduct an independent review on arming the police
  • Provide minimum mandatory prison terms for assaulting Police Officers
  • Double the number of Youth Aid officers
  • Introduce a ‘Youth Justice Demerit Points’ system to provide structure and early intervention for youth offenders. There must be accountability, an offender needs to know there will be consequences but also every opportunity to change their behaviours
  • Review fleeing driver legislation and ensure adequate resourcing to curb the exponential increase in fleeing driver incidents

Justice, Courts and Corrections

New Zealand First proudly believes that keeping society safe should be the priority of law and order policies. Every New Zealander deserves to feel safe, secure, and have their properties respected in the communities they live. That is why New Zealand First has and continues to fix the flaws in our justice system, while ensuring that victims of crime are prioritised over offenders.

Policies

  • Prioritise the principles of the Sentencing Act to focus on the needs of the victim, then the community, and lastly the offender
  • Adopt New Zealand First’s Protection for First Responders and Prison Officers Bill as a Government Bill
  • Introduce harsher penalties for fleeing drivers
  • Increase the use of mandatory minimum sentences for serious violent and sexual offenders
  • Introduce a degrees of murder regime that utilises ‘life for life’ for 1st Degree Murder
  • Review and work to increase the fines for lower level crimes such as texting while driving and shoplifting
  • Introduce an enforcement law for dangerous littering
  • Implement a ‘Youth Justice Demerits’ system to provide accountability and certainty of support for youth offenders, youth aid officers and law enforcement
  • Introduce a greater range of non-custodial sentences such as the confiscation of specific property, larger and long term reparation payments and fines.
  • Remove concurrent sentences for those who commit offences while on parole, on bail, or whilst in custody
  • Investigate the applicability of operational funding to equip corrections officers with body cameras and appropriate protective equipment
  • Provide consistency in legislation and replace the term ‘prison officer’ and ‘prison guard’ with ‘corrections officer’

  • Provide a minimum mandatory cumulative prison term for assaulting Corrections Officers