PM English dangles $503M crime-busting package with early intervention, more cops

PM English dangles $503M crime-busting package with early intervention, more cops
Sophie Boot
By Sophie Boot Feb. 2 (BusinessDesk) - Prime Minister Bill English has used his state of the nation speech to announce a $503 million boost to justice spending, adding 880 police officers and more staff in rural and regional police stations, as well as more resource for preventing crime. The Safer Communities package will fund 1,100 new police staff, the bulk of whom would be sworn officers, increasing the frontline officers to about 9,800 by June 2021, along with more than 3,200 other police staff. The package also includes funding for a...