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1.
- The New Zealand Police is a very significant contributor to the Government's objective of improving public safety. As such, the Government is vitally concerned that the New Zealand Police has management and administrative structures that support, rather than inhibit, the delivery of quality policing services.
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2.
- The resources involved in the New Zealand Police are substantial. Operating expenditure for 1998/99 is $740 million, with a total staffing of 8,934. Fixed assets, principally property, are valued at $481 million.
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3.
- The review of the management and administrative structure of the New Zealand Police has identified potential savings of $50.5 million in direct personnel costs. These savings, which do not affect frontline Police, primarily arise from:
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(i)
- a proposed new and flatter organisational structure, characterised by:
- a Commissioner's Office, which is focussed on the Governments strategic objectives, and which is concerned with securing performance in the delivery of policing services in support of these objectives;
- eleven Districts, each headed by a District "Manager", whose focus is the delivery of quality policing services. The District "Managers" are empowered to make decisions on the delivery of policing services in their Districts, within an allocated budget. The accountability of the District "Manager" is reinforced by a direct reporting relationship to the Commissioner. The Commissioner, together with the District "Managers" and other senior staff, constitute the Operating Committee of the New Zealand Police;
- the establishment of Service Centres which deliver, on a centralised basis certain support services required by the Districts; and
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(ii)
- the proposed outsourcing of non-core support services
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4.
- The proposed new organisational structure requires significantly fewer management and administrative staff than the current one. Some 445 positions are considered to be no longer required, of whom 115 are sworn staff currently performing management or administrative tasks, and 330 non-sworn. The staffing reductions arise from a smaller, strategically focussed Commissioner's Office (115), the elimination of regions (75), and a leaner and consolidated District management and support structure (255).
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5.
- The proposed outsourcing of non-core support services will have further staffing implications, which will occur progressively over two years.
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6.
- The review has also considered the governance of the New Zealand Police, and in particular, ways of enhancing the accountability of the Commissioner of Police without compromising the Commissioner's constitutional independence on law enforcement. The Commissioner's accountability is diluted somewhat by uncertainties over the boundary between Government policy, which the Commissioner must follow, and Police operations. The favoured approach is to strengthen and extend the accountability framework contained in the Police Act and the State Sector Act, notably by:
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(i)
- making the workings of the boundary between Government policy and Police operations more transparent by allowing the Minister of Police to give written directions to the Commissioner which would be tabled in the House of Representatives, etc;
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(ii)
- amending of the Police Act to clearly set out its purpose, to define the role of the Police, and to more clearly specify the responsibilities of the Commissioner;
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(iii)
- bringing the Police Act into line with those provisions in the State Sector Act which would enhance accountability including:
- clarification of the appointment process for the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners including issues of tenure and removal;
- empowering the State Services Commissioner to review and report on the performance of the Commissioner of Police;
- requiring the Commissioner of Police to report each year to the Minister on the financial performance of the Police; and
- requiring the Commissioner to furnish a report on the operational components of New Zealand Police activities, and on issues which are subject to Ministerial direction.
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7.
- A Ministerially appointed Advisory Board is also suggested for the purpose of scrutinising the New Zealand Police's corporate intentions, including proposed capital investments and divestments, and monitoring the adequacy of the business practices adopted by the New Zealand Police. The Advisory Board's views would be feed into the State Services Commissioners review of the Police Commissioner's performance.
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8.
- In summary, the changes proposed are designed to make the New Zealand Police more efficient, and more accountable for the delivery of quality Policing services in support of the Governments public safety objectives. Decisions on the uses to be made of the resources released from the proposed changes are, of course, for the Government to make.
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9.
- The conclusions reached in the review, and the changes proposed, are tentative only, and have been released for consultation with staff, staffing representatives, and other stakeholders. The consultation process is set out at the end of the report.
Acknowledgments
The review team acknowledges:
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1.
- the unequivocal cooperation of the Commissioner and senior staff in the review;
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2.
- the high quality of the staff made available by the Commissioner to assist in the review, and indeed the quality of the staff generally; and
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3.
- that, while the report, of its nature, is critical in some respects, many of the issues identified were already the subject of analysis by the New Zealand Police, particularly in regard to organisational structure. The quality of the internal work greatly assisted the review.
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The Review Team
The team consisted of:
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Doug Martin, partner, Martin, Jenkins & Associates, reviewer
Sir Geoffrey Palmer, partner, Chen & Palmer (constitutional issues)
Mr Jack Jenkins, company director (business related issues)
Mr David Preston, property consultant, Ernst & Young (property management)
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