The Police and Emergency Management Minister, David O'Byrne, today urged the Tasmanian Liberals to take a more balanced approach to police budget issues, after they were caught-out selectively quoting statistics out-of-context.

The Liberals' spokeswoman for Police and Emergency Management today issued a media release trying to blame budget savings for the fact that police hours spent responding to callouts has reduced by about 10 per cent in the year to September.

"Elise Archer's been caught doing what the Liberals love - twisting figures completely out-of-context, in a desperate effort to scare people," Mr O'Byrne said.

"The report she's using* also shows the number of crimes or incidents called into police fell by more than 2,500, or 8.5 per cent, compared to the year before.

"Guess what, Ms Archer - if there's less crime, and therefore less call-outs, the number of hours spent responding to call-outs will naturally drop.

"Response hours are down because call-outs are down, because crime is down.

"I look forward to Ms Archer taking a more balanced look at Tasmania's crime statistics, and congratulating our officers on a job well done over many years.

"Tasmania has one of the finest police services and some of the lowest crime rates in Australia.

"We've got a plan to keep our police service strong and sustainable. The Liberals only have deceit, scare tactics, and vague promises they can't afford," he said.

* Tasmania Police Corporate Performance Report, September.