Source: Radio New Zealand
A Police Association survey of almost 6000 officers put the quit figure at 57 percent.
Police bosses say a survey showing almost 60 percent of officers have considered quitting in the last year is not a pressure point that can be used in pay negotiations.
A Police Association survey of almost 6000 officers put the quit figure at 57 percent and said big factors were insufficient pay and strain on the job.
But police headquarters said attrition was running at a low 4.5-5 percent, frontline numbers had just hit an all-time high and they had some officers rejoining having earlier been lured to Australia.
“I understand the job of our frontline teams is as dynamic and complex as it is, that gives our people pause for thought on certain days,” said chief people officer Leigh MacDonald.
“But … we don’t necessarily see it as a result of them leaving the organisation.”
Asked if the 57 percent figure was worrying, he said, “Yeah, absolutely.
“Their results are consistent with our own feedback … It is something that we’ve been focused on for quite some time, particularly the context of, you know, the wellness and looking after our frontline people.”
The survey that heard from 5800 officers was a regular one done heading into pay negotiations, but MacDonald did not think it was a point of pressure the association could use.
However, the association’s president Steve Watt said its members were saying “they’re under-appreciated, they’re under-supported, they’re over-stretched, they’re underpaid”.
“It’s disappointing to hear the police refer to attrition being at 4.5 percent. We agree with that attrition rate. However, what we’re concerned about is why there are so many officers that are considering leaving the job,” Watt told RNZ.
“This shouldn’t be ignored. It needs to be listened to and understood, and then actions put in place to try and turn that tide around.”
Police Association president Steve Watt. RNZ/ Phil Pennington
The association online newsletter said just over 57 percent of respondents said understaffing had affected them over the past year, around “operational capacity strain, continued staffing gaps, stressful workloads and diminished quality of service”.
Watt said in the newsletter that police had spent more than twice as much on recruitment marketing last year as the previous year but that could not solve the problems, such as of the Far North having to keep on tapping Whangārei to plug chronic staffing gaps.
But MacDonald said, “Actually, we’ve done very, very well in our recruitment.”
The frontline hit a record 10,496 when new graduates went on the beat this month, and would add another 300 later in the year. Police had been told by the government to hit 10,700 by November last year but undershot.
MacDonald said the Police Commissioner was investing heavily on improving staff welfare. The volume of people accessing tools and wellness advisors was stable, he added.
Police trusted the pay bargaining process, he said.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
