The New Zealand Police Association has cautiously backed Police Minister Mark Mitchell as the country enters its first year under the new coalition Government.

Mitchell recently expressed his support for Police Commissioner Andrew Coster and reassured he can carry out the Government's iron-fist approach to law and order, he then released a letter of expectations setting out National’s key policies.

Talking to Summer Breakfast this morning, Police Association president Chris Cahill was asked what he thought about Mitchell's start to the role and what the union's perception was of the year ahead under his watch.

"He's very keen, he's very involved," said Cahill.

"I've always said the key thing to look for in a Police Minister is if they wanted the portfolio, and Mark Mitchell fits that so it'll be interesting to see how things unfold in the next twelve months. He's got some great ideas."

Cahill said that whilst ideas are always a good thing to provide, the money needs to be following right behind. The association is keen to see what financial investment will come so Mitchell's ideas can be made a reality.

One of the coalition Government's key policing and justice policies is around the management of gangs. Mitchell's letter of expectations included gang patch bans, law changes to give police more search powers and stopping gang members from associating with each other.

Cahill was asked if gangs in New Zealand would be reigned in by the end of next year under Mitchell's leadership.

"Ah, it's a big ask and certainly he has ideas for legislation, but it will be difficult and interesting around how he implements it - let's see if it passes through the year," he said.

"Gangs in New Zealand are a major issue and they're not going to fixed overnight, but clearly there will be an emphasis on putting them under pressure and all police will support that."

The association president was initially talked to by Summer Breakfast about his take on why there appeared to be a spike in homicide cases over the summer period - a shocking record of eight alleged murders in 21 days.

New Zealand averages a manslaughter or homicide incident every five days.

Cahill said that normally homicides were associated with the consumption of alcohol and that domestic violence is usually a factor. Not all recent homicides are linked to either of these, Cahill said, but that calling it a spike is fair.

"It's a worrying spike but you couldn't say it's a trend as it's far too early to say that."

Asked about contributing factors to summer incidents, Cahill agreed with the rhetoric around the stress on families over the Christmas period that may have taken a toll for some.

"Certainly we've got some tough times out there economically, Christmas often brings on stress when money is tight and people are concerned about their jobs - people have lost their jobs," he said.

"These things all add to the stress around families at this time of year and it can lead to bad domestic violence situations and it has contributed to some of these homicides."

Cahill also said he was concerned about the involvement of young people in serious, violent situations.

"They're quite nasty and tragic for the families but it does worry me the level of violence we're seeing out there now, not just in homicides but below that."

As the summer continues, police are out in force patrolling large gatherings like festivals where incidents have sparked at some - such as Juicy Fest in Wellington where numerous assaults took place .

The summer period isn't a holiday for police, Cahill said.

"You get eight homicides, you get the tragedy of 20 deaths on our roads - they also require significant investigations. And then you have all these festivals around the country. Police are pretty stretched and certainly nobody is putting their feet up at this time of year."