Clash of claims
I was reading an article today, posted on NewsHub New Zealand.
The National party representitive Amy Adams was spouting off about how boosting Police Numbers will increase Prison populations here in New Zealand.
On the other hand, Andrew Little (the Labor Party representitive) is calling for more police and claims it'll deter crime and therefore lower prison populations.
Where are the statistics?
There are none. Both sides are claiming they are correct without citing any information or statistics to prove their claims.
Consequences
The rural areas and small towns will never benefit from a bigger police presence. They're already underfunded and understaffed.
Here in my home town, we have the highest crime rate in the country, and we only have a population of 4500 people. We also have the highest ratio of single unwed mothers, and highest percentage of families living under the poverty line than any other place in the country.
More police in this town is not the answer, people here get aggressive when they see a blue uniform.
We need education, support and mostly - employment.
Fix those, you fix the crime problem.