The New Zealand parliament sharply criticized the response of police to emergency calls. In one high profile case a police officer was too busy using his mobile speed camera to respond to the site of a drowning nearby. The report criticized police officials for putting a higher priority on traffic tickets than protecting the lives and property of the public.

The committee has now put police bosses on notice that issuing traffic tickets is not the priority. "We would like to see that apprehending minor traffic infringers should not be prioritised at the expense of emergency calls from members of the public whose lives and property are in danger," the report says.