Aotearoa / New Zealand

It’ll most likely mean the people running stuff in the background. payroll, asset management and purchasing, IT staff, etc.

These people will have an impact on ‘crime fighting’, but marginally. Eg. If there’s a problem with payroll it might mean the police officers are paid a day or two late. Or maybe office supplies aren’t kept well stocked in station.

But it might also be anyone who’s not an “officer”. So police station support/maintenance, mechanics, analysts (people who help the police analyse gathered intelligence), 111 operators, etc.

This would probably have significant impacts on ‘crime fighting’. 500 extra police isn’t going to be as effective if police cars are broken, intelligence isn’t accurate, or there’s a wait time on 111.