Cops are blue

Quarter of police unhappy in job
Almost a quarter of New Zealand's police officers are unhappy in their jobs, and another two-thirds are merely going through the motions at work, a survey of police morale has found. The $187,500 survey - the result of a recommendation made during the Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct after the Louise Nicholas case last year - reveals a police force in which many officers are "psychologically absent" from the job. The results have shocked senior police. The Gallup Employee Engagement Survey, obtained by the Herald under the Official Information Act, revealed that only 13 per cent of police staff were loyal and committed to the job. The average over New Zealand's working population is 25 per cent. At the other end of the scale, 22 per cent of police were so unhappy in their work situation that they were "psychologically absent" and insisted on sharing their unhappiness with colleagues. Heavy workloads, lack of staff and resources and poor management were given as the main reasons stopping officers doing their best.

The focus of Government has been to sell the whole $50 000 starting wage, when really Police need better resources, more time off and much, much, much more counseling to help deal with the stress of being a cop. The fact that Police are only given 19 weeks training must be another issue, how in god’s name can a person be emotionally and mentally ready for the challenges of being a cop when they only have 19 weeks training behind them? And let’s not forget that with all that poor training and unsorted stress (combined with a secretive non independent police complaints authority that gives the public little faith in the police complaints process), the Public end up being the target for a lot of that anger, which creates more social friction between ‘us’ and ‘them’ – it is little wonder Police are so down and is a reminder to keep a very long distance away from any of them as having to deal with an angry and depressed cop could really ruin your day.