It's great to be here once again. This is the third year in a row I have addressed your conference and it's an occasion I always enjoy.

This is of course the first time I address you as your Prime Minister. So today I won't just be talking about ideas, but I will also be highlighting action the new government has taken in the law and order area and action we will take in the near future. 

Because, make no mistake, improving law and order in New Zealand is a critical priority for the National-led Government. Our actions over the past 11 months have reflected that priority. 

That's because, like you, we share New Zealanders' concerns about growing levels of violent crime. We are determined to make our communities safer and to promote the security of law-abiding families. 

Those goals simply cannot be achieved without you, the officers of the New Zealand Police Service.   

Today I would like to thank you and the 11,880 or so police around the country for all that you do in service of this country. Your dedication, your sense of duty and your courage set you apart as the guardians and heroes of our communities. 

It takes a special person to take on the sacrifice and risk that so often comes with your role. That fact is highlighted when we remember those officers who have died in the line of duty in the past year. 

Let me acknowledge them:

Senior Constable Len Snee, fatally wounded in Napier on 7 May this year. 

Sergeant Don Wilkinson killed at Mangere on September 11 2008.

In seeking to protect their fellow New Zealanders and uphold the rule of law, these officers paid the ultimate price. 

My thoughts go out to their families, and indeed the families of all police whose support you depend on. 

Your work is incredibly important and it is highly valued by those you serve. Whether it's working with troubled young people, breaking up gangs, investigating homicides, or helping out with Disaster Victims Identification, the face of the New Zealand Police Service is one of professionalism and integrity. 

Most importantly, yours is the face of law enforcement.

In my speech today I want to focus on the steps the Government is taking to support you in that role.   

Since coming to office, National has worked hard to make this country a safer place for law-abiding New Zealanders, and a much tougher place for criminals.  We have used all the levers of Government in support of that goal; our law-making powers, our funding ability, and our leadership role.  

We've also brought some clear values to the law and order agenda.  

We believe improving public safety means ensuring there are appropriate consequences for offenders.

That requires laws that make it clear to those who threaten public safety that their behaviour is unacceptable and will be punished accordingly.  The policies of this Government reflect that belief and they will continue to do so. 

We also believe that the police make up the critical frontline of crime-fighting in New Zealand and that the Government must back them accordingly. That means ensuring you have the mandate, the legal back-up and the crime-fighting tools you need to work effectively.

That's why we have implemented policies to ensure there are more police on our streets, that you have better tools for protecting yourselves and the public from criminals, and that you are backed up by the legal powers you need to secure prosecutions.

Finally, this Government understands that the responsibility for preventing crime occurring does not fall solely on the police. To make our communities safer the Government must focus on the drivers of crime and ensure we tackle the root-causes of criminal offending. 

That's why this Government has focused so much attention on fighting criminal gangs, on reducing youth offending and on ensuring more of our young people get the start they need in life. 

Those are the values we have brought to Government.

When I spoke at your conference last year, those values were reflected in the announcement I made about the first 10 steps in National's Action Plan for Violent Crime.

It's worth revisiting those steps to measure the progress we have made.

1. Our first pledge was to clamp down on criminal gangs and the "P" trade they support.

We have acted on this pledge. 

We've given police the legislative teeth you need to recover property and proceeds of crime from criminals.   We have passed the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery Act) and the Sentencing Amendment Act. 

We have also directed that we're not just going to take away gangs' profits; we're also going to use those profits against them.  We will ensure that the ill-gotten gains of criminal activity are poured back into the fight against gangs and drugs. 

In addition, within our first 100 days of office, we introduced the Gangs and Organised Crime Bill. This legislation will be passed as a matter of priority. It doubles the penalty for participation in a criminal gang, gives police greater powers to investigate gang members and enables removal orders for gang fortifications.

It is supported by new Search and Surveillance and Anti-Money Laundering Bills.    These too will give police extra powers for investigating and fighting gang operations.

Finally, last week I launched the Government's Action Plan for tackling P. 

The plan calls on the full force of our arsenal. 

In addition to coming down on gangs, it restricts access to the precursor chemicals gangs use to make P; it establishes dedicated Customs drug-forces to stop drugs and precursors coming through the border; it provides 3000 more treatment places to get P users off the drug; it supports families and communities to resist P use and it provides the leadership and accountability needed to make sure we get results.

The Police Association has been warning about the P-problem for more than a decade. This Government has listened, and the Action Plan I announced last week is our response.

Taken together, our actions are sending a clear message to gangs and those involved in the P-trade: the Government is coming after your business and we will use every tool we can to destroy it. We will be ruthless in our pursuit of you and our actions will reflect that.

2. Our second pledge was to tackle increasing violent youth crime by bolstering the Youth Court with a range of new interventions and sentences.

We have acted on this pledge.

We have introduced new legislation and $82 million in new funding to support a strengthened range of up to 3000 new interventions for young offenders. 

Like you, we know that the young offenders of today are the unexploded time bombs of tomorrow.

We also know that we have the power to turn young people off a life of crime, if we get in early and intervene effectively.

Thanks to our new Fresh Start youth justice initiatives, from next year the following will be possible:

• Up to 1000 more young people a year will take part in Community Youth Programmes. These will be designed to keep at-risk young people out of court.  We will be calling on the proven success of the Police in running these kinds of programmes and we look forward to working with you to deliver them.   

We're also giving the Youth Court the ability to ensure that:

• Up to 300 more offenders a year can take part in a mentoring programme,
• 230 more can take part in alcohol and drug treatment and
• Up to 700 families of youth offenders take part in parenting programmes.

We're also funding new intensive programmes to change the behaviour of young offenders and get them back on the rails. These programmes are about instilling self-discipline, a sense of personal responsibility and clear boundaries.  We are increasing funding over time so there are hundreds of new places in these programmes:

• Up to 200 young offenders will be able to take part in 10-day long Youth Court supervised activity camps.
• More than 200 will be placed in innovative new youth justice programmes designed by experts. 
• Up to 30 young offenders will be placed on electronic bail.
• 175 more places will be created in supported bail programmes.
• 50 more hard-end young offenders will be able to take part in Supervision with Activity programmes of up to six months
• And 40 of the most troubled offenders will be able to take part in residential military-activity camps.

Taken together, the Government's Fresh Start package will help turn more young people off a life of crime, it will help make our communities safer and it will save lives.

3. Our third pledge was to toughen the bail laws and make it harder for criminals awaiting trial to get bail.

We have acted on this pledge. 

We passed the Bail Amendment last year to ensure that criminals who pose a risk to public safety can be remanded in custody.  This overturned the 2007 changes that had made our bail laws easier on criminals and harder on the public. 

We heard the fierce criticism those changes received from victims. We too were shocked that of the 5000 more offenders bailed under Labour's law, more than a third were facing serious violent charges including manslaughter and murder. 

So we acted. For the line-ball decisions, we changed the law and returned the benefit of the doubt to the public, rather than the accused. 

Looking ahead, we are also doing a review of specific aspects of bail to make sure it is effective as possible in protecting the safety of the public. 

4. Our fourth pledge was to remove the right of the worst repeat violent offenders to be released on parole.

We have acted on this pledge.

Within our first 100 days of office we introduced legislation to restrict eligibility for parole for the worst repeat violent offenders and to those accused of the worst murders. 

This legislation makes it clear that parole is a privilege not a right. The Bill is at Select Committee and a report-back is due late next month. 

5. Our fifth pledge was to train 600 additional sworn police officers.

We have acted on this pledge.

Even amidst the toughest economic times, our first Budget provided an additional $180 million for 600 extra police.

By the end of next year there will be extra 300 police in Counties Manukau, and by the end of 2011 there will be an additional 300 police throughout the rest of the country.

We also wanted to ensure that all police had a better means of protecting yourselves from dangerous, violent offenders. That's why in our first Budget we provided $10 million for the national roll-out of tasers. 

6. Our sixth pledge was to make it easier for police to catch and prosecute criminals by giving you the power to take DNA from people arrested for imprisonable offences.

We have acted on our pledge.

In our first 100 days of office we introduced legislation that will give you the power to collect DNA from people you intend to charge and match it against samples from unsolved crime scenes. This is the modern-day fingerprint and it will be a critical tool in helping police make New Zealand a safer place. 

This legislation has been reported back to the House by the Select Committee and getting it passed is a high priority in the Government's parliamentary agenda. 

7. Our seventh pledge was to give police the power to issue on-the-spot protection orders to help protect victims of domestic violence. 

We have acted on this pledge.

In our first 100 days of office we introduced the Domestic Violence (Enhancing Safety) Bill that will give police that power and allow sentencing judges to issue protection orders on behalf of victims. That Bill is now at the Committee stage of the parliamentary process and is tagged as a high priority for enactment.

8. Our eighth pledge was to set up a Victims Compensation Scheme funded by a levy on criminals, and to use those funds to upgrade services for victims.

We have acted on this pledge. 

In our first 100 days of office we introduced the Sentencing (Offender Levy) Amendment Bill. We will pass this law in time to ensure that levy collection commences from 1 July next year. Our first Budget also provided the $2.3 million needed to get the scheme up and running.  

This levy will help address the financial costs that fall on victims of crime and ensure that offenders are obliged to help address the harm that criminal behaviour causes victims.

We have also progressed a Bill which will ensure that victims of crime no longer have to be means-tested for the legal aid associated with attending inquests and Parole Board hearings. 

In addition we are reviewing the Victims Rights Act and victims' services generally, to reduce the impact of crime on victims by protecting them from potentially alienating experiences in the criminal justice system. 

And we have introduced legislation to remove the Provocation Defence from the Crimes Act. 

We believe this defence enabled offenders to use their defence to tarnish the character of their victims. It effectively provided a defence for lashing out in anger, and rewarded a lack of self control. So we are acting to change it.

9. Our ninth pledge was to increase the maximum sentences for offenders who commit acts of violence and abuse against children.

We have acted on this pledge.

Last year we passed the Sentencing (Offences against Children) Amendment Act.  This requires the Court to take into account the defencelessness of children when it sentences offenders.

We have also introduced a Child Family Protection Bill which gives the Courts some additional powers to protect children and families from all forms of violence and abuse. 

We are continuing to do work in this area, so we can ensure our laws send a clear message that crimes against children are utterly abhorrent to our society and should be punished accordingly. We will be making further announcements about this in the near future. 

10.   Our final pledge was to make our prisons work smarter by increasing drug and alcohol rehab and compulsory work programmes for prisoners.

We have acted on that pledge. 

We are funding an additional three Drug Treatment Units in our prisons, which will by 2011 double the number of prisoners able to undertake rehabilitation.

We are also ensuring 1000 extra prisoners will learn industry-based skills in prison. 

Taken together these policies will help reduce the reoffending rates of ex-prisoners.  They will result in fewer victims, a reduction in the cost of crime and safer communities. 

New Challenges

Ladies and gentlemen, these are the steps the National Party pledged to take and these are the actions the National-led Government has taken so far. 

It's been a very busy few months.

We have also been responsive in the face of emerging challenges.

Our response to the ‘boy-racer' problem is a good example of that. 

The cowardly attack on Sergeant Nigel Armstrong in Christchurch by a mob of illegal street racers and their friends was the last straw for the Government.

You the police told us you needed better tools for dealing with these offenders. The National-led Government listened to you and we took action.  

We have introduced legislation that will make it harder for illegal street racers to avoid penalty. It will also prevent some of the increasingly violent behaviour we are seeing when groups of illegal street racers get together.  

As we look to the future we can be sure that new challenges will emerge.

My pledge to you is that my Government will remain vigilant in our pursuit of safer communities.

Our actions will reflect that pledge.

I am conscious that we will do so against the backdrop of a challenging fiscal environment.

The Crown accounts are forecast to be in deficit for the next decade. Government debt is growing. There will be very little money available for additional public spending.

That presents a challenge for the Government as we try and get better value for every taxpayer dollar. 

It also presents a challenge for you as police, as you too try to achieve more within tighter Budgets. The Minister of Police has made it clear to the Commissioner that these decisions must be made very carefully so as not to jeopardise the safety of the public.

I think the police are well-placed to rise to this challenge. 

For one thing, the addition of 600 new officers to your ranks puts you in a position of strength. This extra manpower means you will increasingly be able to focus on the kind of proactive community policing that can prevent future crime from happening. 

As I travel around the country I hear numerous stories about the great proactive work police are already doing in their communities. 

The "Safer Porirua" project is a good local example, where police got together with the Porirua City Council and community agencies to improve public safety in their area. I've been told that the results have been huge, with reports of; improved public perceptions of safety, the lowest crime rates in the Wellington region, a reduced rate of serious and fatal road injuries, international accreditation as an "International Safe Community" and the Supreme Public Sector Excellence Award.

As you well know, police are taking the initiative on this kind of thing all over the country. Whether it's Blue Light programmes diverting young people from criminal careers, work with local high schools, or work with at-risk families and neighbourhoods. 

This isn't the side of policing that shows up in the arrest statistics but it is incredibly important, and ultimately it has the power to reduce our crime rates. With more police on the beat, more of this kind of work will be possible, and more crime will be prevented. That's a smart approach for the future and it's one this Government is keen to see more of.   

I also think that as we look to the future new technology will help you save time on form-filling and administration so that you can commit more time to frontline duties. 

Finally, you should know that the Government understands it is not the police alone who should be charged with responsibility for making our communities safer.

In fact, we all have a role to play in reaching that goal.  We all have a role in addressing the drivers of crime and making New Zealander a better, safer place to live.   

The Government is working hard to lead that progress and address those drivers of crime. 

It's about strengthening our economy to provide more jobs and better living standards. 

It's about making our education system more effective so that fewer young people fall through the cracks.

It's about providing better support to vulnerable families and the children they are raising.

It's about many actions that, taken together, add up to a stronger, more prosperous, country.

These are the priorities your Government is focused on. 

In closing, let me wish you all the best for an excellent conference

The New Zealand Police Service has a critical role to play in making this country a better place. 

I value your service and your hard work and I thank you for it. 

Know that when you leave this conference, and return to your daily work of serving this country, you will be backed your fellow New Zealanders and you will be backed by this Government. 

Thank you.