Police silence on why they are spending less on informants is unacceptable, the Labour Party says.
Private investigator Mike Gillam says "money talks" in the criminal realm. Photo: 123RF
In 2012 they paid informants $416,114, according to Official Information Act figures. The next two years they spent about $300,000, then $207,000 in 2015, and around $156,000 last year. This financial year police spending is on track to be lower still.
Neither police nor the office of Police Minister Paula Bennett would comment on the reason for lower spending.
Labour Party police spokesperson Stuart Nash said that was not good enough.
"Informants' evidence is often queried and its credibility called to question," he said.
Mr Nash wondered if it was a deliberate ploy because informants and their testimonies were not leading to successful prosecutions, or whether the criminal fraternity had stopped speaking to police.
"Money talks, especially in that criminal realm." - Private investigator Mike Gillam
Criminologist Greg Newbold thinks he knows why.
"It won't have anything to do with morality. I think they're just making an operational decision about how much money they are prepared to spend to pay witnesses - criminal witnesses aren't very reliable," he said.
"I wouldn't be surprised if this is where the cuts are being made."
Snitching had gone on for decades but that did not mean it was immune from criticism, Mr Newbold said.
The Police Association said officers in the past were criticised for being too lenient on informants, effectively paying criminals hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Mr Nash said he hoped the decline was not a case of criminals closing ranks.
Private investigator Mike Gillam said that was unlikely.
"People are quite happy to dob in a mate for a few grand. Money talks, especially in that criminal realm," he said.
"A lot of these guys know and mix in the same circles, so they're not doing anything for the police because they like the police, they're doing if for monetary gain.
"For us, we've relied on one or two unpaid informants and the difference in what evidence is given is vast."
Given police said serious crime was decreasing, the need for paid informants could be dropping too, he said.
