Consensus is building that not only are police doing more, they're doing more of what they shouldn't have to. National, Act and the Police Association say other government agencies need to start picking up the slack so police can get back to what they do best.
Cut targets for emergency response times is proof police have "waved the white flag", National says.
Police have been forced to reduce their own year-end targets for time taken to respond to emergencies and how many burglaries they need to get to within 48 hours. READ MORE: * Police dramatically reduce targets for responding to emergencies and burglaries * Clock ticks for mental health response decision
Escalating mental health and family violence callouts, alongside logistical factors such as bigger cities with heavier traffic and more people have meant the previous targets are no longer attainable.
National's police spokesperson Mark Mitchell said initiatives that took social and health issues off police’s plates would allow them to get “back to basics”.
The party is considering policy that would see a co-response model for mental health rolled out more widely.
“It does happen with the police because historically they've been a very effective agency, they're our only 24/7 sort of social agency, so they tend to pick up a whole lot of roles that they shouldn't be.
“And it's not their primary role, or their core roll but it’s because other government agencies aren’t performing, or underperforming."
He said early stage work was underway to explore widening the successful mental health co-response model.
“They've had a 60 percent increase in mental health callouts. So we believe that a co-response model is really important. Matt Doocey and I are working on something like that, whereby you actually have a health response.
“Some mental health callouts, you will initially have to have police attendance, because there may be violence or threat of violence involved but then they have to very quickly be taken over by mental health experts."
A co-response model involves police, mental health experts and often ambulance working together to decide the most appropriate way to respond to a mental health call.
“They might say that’s not a failure - but for the public who aren't getting that service, it’s a failure.” - Chris Cahill, Police Association
Mental Health Foundation chief executive Shaun Robinson previously told Newsroom it was a “no-brainer” a co-response team model should be rolled out nationwide.
Act police spokesperson Chris Baillie said police had historically responded to mental health callouts, but the rising number of them meant the status quo was no longer fit for purpose.
"It's not a deterioration in the work that police do. They are just not able to do numbers and give things the attention that they used to."
Police Association president Chris Cahill said the changed targets were proof police were struggling.
“The police have now put their hands up to a degree and accepted that they can't do it.
“They might say that’s not a failure – but for the public who aren't getting that service, it’s a failure.”
Cahill agreed with the police’s own explanation they were inevitably taking on more work that could be better owned by other government departments.
“Health aren’t doing their job and police are having to do that, and Oranga Tamariki aren’t doing their job and police are having to do that.
“There needs to be a clear understanding of what police should be delivering on. Because at the moment there are fairly key areas of policing that are not being delivered on.”
Mitchell said it was important to have leadership that was clear on what police’s role was.
“I'll be working very hard across government to make sure that other agencies stand up and start to take responsibility for their own areas so that we can relieve some of the pressure on our front line ... so they can respond to members of the public when they're calling for help.”
Police Minister Ginny Andersen said the revised targets did not mean police standards had slipped.
“I am advised by police that changes in output measures were necessary to reflect the environment in which police currently operate and that this will not impact the service they provide to our communities. In recent years there have been significant increases in calls relating to mental health and family harm which have put additional demand on police.
“I am confident that the high standards of police will be maintained and that they will continue to review how to best balance and respond to changing service demands. Police has been further enabled to respond by the Government’s investment in police which has now seen 1800 additional officers join since 2017.”
