I N   T H I S   S E C T I O N (i) Governance (ii) Organisational Structure (iii) Service Delivery (iv) Purchasing (v) Property Management

Preliminary Draft Report 8 June 1998

C O N T E N T S A. Introduction B. Issue Definition C. Background D. Legislative Framework E. Governance F. The Organisational Structure of the Police G. Training H. Outsourcing I. Purchasing of Supplies J. Property Management K. Summary of Savings L. Consultation A P P E N D I C E S 1, 2, 3.

ISSUE DEFINITION

6. The first stage of the review consisted of identifying the issues for analysis. These arose from a series of discussions between members of the review team, the steering group of the New Zealand Police, and Treasury officials, and through an analysis of previous reviews of the New Zealand Police. The key issues which emerged were: (i) Governance the uncertainties over the boundary between decisions made by the New Zealand Police that must be exercised on an independent basis free from Ministerial direction, and Government policy which the New Zealand Police must follow. This is the over arching issue; the fact that the Police Act 1958 does not fully reflect the changes that have occurred in the State sector since 1988; the lack of clarity in the accountability of the New Zealand Police and the Commissioner, reflecting the first point above; and the unsatisfactory definition of the Commissioner's accountability to the Minister contained in the Police Regulations 1992. (ii) Organisational Structure the mix of centralised (ie Headquarters) and decentralised decision making (ie regions and districts) with the consequent difficulty in properly assigning accountability for service delivery; the devolution of some aspects of management authority in resource allocation to regions and districts without robust performance measures and budgetary controls; confusion amongst client groups over who has decision making authority in respect of a particular issue; the excessive number of layers of management; and a management/staff ratio which is high (1:3.7) compared with 1:6 in Australia and 1:7 in Britain. (iii) Service Delivery the delivery by the New Zealand Police of support services which are either not central to core policing, or which do not require sworn Police officers (or employees of the New Zealand Police) to deliver them; and issues around capturing economies of scale, quality, and mitigation of risk. (iv) Purchasing the lack of a regular (eg annual) tendering process for the purchase of major supplies/services; and ability to leverage off purchasing power as a large organisation not maximised. (v) Property Management the lack of a comprehensive strategic plan for property, which means that it is not possible to identify (with minor exceptions) obvious potential for savings; and the decentralised and uncoordinated approach to property management.

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