MEDICAL REPORTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 47, 25 February 1929, Page 10

MEDICAL REPORTS.

MORE .vESTIONS ASKED. < -VIT: I. CH iNGE OF OPINION." MR. V I'HCROFT OFFERS ASSISTANCE. Evidence wa led by Mr. A. E. Currie, f the Crown Law Office, Wellington, iperintendent Wohlmann was repreted by Mr. X. Johnson, of Hamilton: peetors Hollis and Mcllveney, of kland, and Inspector Eceles, of vlton, by Mr. A. H. Johnstone; '% Detective Hammond by Mr. Allan » Detective-Sergeant Kelly by Mr. nlay: and Sergeant Lambert, of and Constables Collins, PolId and Moloney by Mr. L. P.

xamination started this morn's. H. Northcroft, who repreBayly family at the Elsie quest, made an application JS that he be recognised as an it the inquiry. He thought he ji considerable assistance. » said that it was not desirAprivate individuals be repre«f the inquiry. Such a course, "Aplicate matters. Any assisted have to come through the j. appreciated the suggestion, rould be glad of any assistance uld help him in his finding so it came through the Crown, of Superintendent >ann by Mr. L. P. Leary, adjourned Saturday, then began. Jess said that the instructions Constable Collins by headquarters A depend upon the report he made |he finding of the body. ]f a person dies while in full possesI of their faculties, the eye 3 remain a, but if death occurs while asleep, I eyes remain closed. That has been I experience," said witness after statp that the eyes of the girl were closed jpen the body was taken to the morgue, j

"Justified." Wohlmann, after outA«ng the injuries, said Constable Collins " Jas justified under the circumstances in assuming that death was not due to » Violence. Unless there were good grounds to the contrary, decency demanded that the body be removed as 3 quickly as possible, as the public had -j/ learned of the tragedy and were begin- > ning to visit the locality. When the body was removed to the morgue, the medical evidence for about six weeks corroborated the constable's decision when he fonnd the body. "I am not aware of any reason being given by doctors Murray and Gilmour for their vital change of opinion." Witness said the doctors at first stated they did not think any violence had been done nnd later paid much attention to the bruise on the head. Mr. G. P. Finlay referred to the evidence of Dr. Gilmour. He said there was no essential difference in the evidence of Dr. Gilmour to the first report. "Regard all Cases Seriously." To Mr. Noel Johnson: The police regard all cases of sudden and unexplained death seriously. Inquiries concerning the death of Elsie Walker had been continued up till the present day. During the inquest witness made a few suggestions to the Crown Prosecutor (Mr. Meredith) as to the conduct of the inquest. Some of the suggestions were adopted, and some were not. Detective Sergeant Kelly gave instructions for the removal of the body. To Mr. Cnrrie: Dr. Murray was called as soon a s the negative result of the analyst's report, on the contents of the dead girl's stomach was available. There no substantial difficulty in getting the doctor, but he was not called as a matter of urgency. A Homogeneous Body. Superintendent Wohlmann said there w <-re no up-to-date maps at headquarters showing the boundaries of police dis- * nets and sub-districts. This was partly due to the fact that the boundaries were liable to change. It was not considered good policy to emphasise arbitrarv boundaries as between constables' and sergeants' districts, because the New Zealand police force was a homogeneous body. Men on the spot were expected to do the work required without reference t<> the fact of overstepping district bountnines Detectives did not use maps at d!'«. «7 ould not be wi3e for them to IST, iave overlapping when queatiemU * tl , le su P"intendent, instrJK> r «* ar *«g the giving of

, W M^! i!te»- the matauthority to mterfer* fm+v. ve no the ordinary »«* in I would not interfere. ' *' nOT »Uy,

Mr. Page: Speaking generally, would more than half the time of Inspector Hollis be employed with the uniform branch?— Yes.

Speaking generally again, what class of work would he handle generally ?— Reports of crime from the three coordinated districts. Then there is the morning correspondence, reports from branch stations, interviews with his subinspector and chief detective. Police Court cases for trial at 10 o'clock. Then there are telephone messages and interviews with officials, solicitors and the general public. From 10.30 to 11.30, and sometimes till 12, there are interviews with the co-ordinated officers. There is a fresh influx of correspondence in the afternoon and more interviews. A very busy dav.

The Commissioner: Too busy?—l think it is becoming as much as one man can manage. Possibly. In general practice, the chief detective directs the detail of an investigation largely on his own initiative. After detailing the many duties which had to be carried out by the -chief detective, the superintendent, said that the chief detective had not got time to con eider quietly and fully the lines of action to be followed when a case was suddenly, presented. It was very desirable that the chief detective should have time to do this. "Chief Detective Overworked." The Commissioner: Can you suggest a remedy'—Yes. One remedy would be to relieve the chief detective —of the duty of conducting, cases at the Court. That would allow him more time. If it was suggested that the inquiry concerning Elsie Walker's death was not grappled with in the early stages in an adequate manner, witness would say that the case received attention commensurate with its importance at the various stages of the inquiry.

The Commissioner: That is not quite what I want. Assuming that it is a fact that in the early stages of the inquiry a wide enough view was not taken of the existing facts, and sufficiently early inquiry was not made, would that fact be attributable to pressure of work on senior officers?

Mr. Noel Johnson: Might I suggest, sir, that that is not a fair question? Unless the superintendent is prepared to agree that theve was some dereliction, it is not an easy question for him to answer.

The Commissioner: That may be so. I shall put the question in another way. Do you, Superintendent Wohlniann, consider that at the time of this inquiry there was anyone overworked? Superintendent Wholmann: I think the chief detective here is overworked, and I think the inspector has about the maximum burden he can carry. Value of Detective Experience. Explaining the rank of a chief detective, the superintendent said it was equivalent to the status of senior sergeant in the uniform branch. When promoted, a chief detective became a sub-inspector. Crime in New Zealand wa s dealt with by both branches of the service. A promoted chief detective would find his detective experience of value in the uniform branch. It was true that a sub-inspector did not have to deal with detective work directly. Mr. Page: Is the present system sufficient to conserve the experience of a chief detective, or is that dissipated when he goes to the uniform branch?— It is never lost, sir. The fresh experience renders him a more valuable officer. In reply to a further question, witness said that the time had not arrived in New Zealand when the country could afford the high cost of having "a number of detectives in the smaller towns.

Mr. Page: Taking Auckland only, superintendent, tnere is nu commissioned officer employed solely for detective work ? —No. Is it desirable there should be?— Not at the present time. At noon the superintendant finished his evidence after six hours in the witness box.

Sound Table Confeiencea. Inspector J. Mcllveney, officer in charge of the Auckland metropolitan district, was the next witness. He said that he did not remember any matters which were crucial to the investigations of the death of Elsie Walker going to the vote at the daily conference between Inspector Hollis, the superintendent and himself. He did remember that it was agreec to send for Dr. Murray on one occasion and see what they could get from him. Witness could not recall any other step in the investigations which \jjas due to a decision at the conferences. He was satisfied that Inspector Hollis was doing all that was necessary. Mr. Currie: Did you have anything to do Ajth the recall of Detective-Sergeant Kelly from the Bay of Plenty. Mr. Finlay: He was not recalled. He came home. Mr. Currie then read a telegram asking Detective-Sergeant Kelly to return •ad report to Inspector Ilolli*.

Witness: I had nothing to do with it.) Are you in a position to express an opinion on the work of Mr. Hollis, your co-inspector'.'—Before Mr. Hollis came 1 did all his work and my own too, with the exception of two stations that were put on when the co-ordinated districts were brought in. In the opinion of witness the work of I the chief detective was heavy. As the I population increased, the work became I I heavier in volume. He could not say I the seriousness of the work had not | materially changed. He was not pre- j pared to express an opinion about that. | To judge it accurately, the records I would have to be consulted. 1 I Clearing up Reports. To Mr. A. H. Johnstone: I have been a member of the New Zealand Police Force since 1595. I joined as a constable. For about 2tj years I was in the detective branch of the service.

All the matters connected with the ; Elsie Walker case occurred outside his district, said witness. He was careful to clear up all reports due from his district. The morning after the finding of the body of Elsie Walker the case was brought up in conference by Mr. Hollis. At the daily conferences there were no disagreements. The steps to be taken were not discussed wholly every day. It was impossible to discuss all the steps. When the first report was received it appeared that the girl had died from natural causes. That was the start. Later developments were discussed from time to time. Whness knew of the examina-i tion of the stomach. The advantage of his knowledge of detective work was at the disposal of the others. The conference of senior officers was a very serious gathering. It was not in the nature of an informal chat. The number of investigations undertaken by the police was increasing yearly. The staff was also growing. The luncheon adjournment was taken at 1 p.m.

Afternoon Proceedings. The inquiry was resumed at 2.15. Inspector Mcllveney, cross-examined by Air. .Moody, said Chief-Detective Hammond carried out his duties "very well" and "very thoroughly." During the year 1928 Mr. Hammond had dealt with 68tio files. To. Mr. Xoel Johnston: Witness did not mean to imply that Inspector Hollis was not fully occupied, but Inspector Hollis had more than than witness used to have, to devote attention to detective matters. To the Commissioner: The new arrangement of district* was effected about a year ago. Prior to that time witness was the only inspector. When the report from the Government analyst was received, the doctor was summonder for an interview. Dr. Murray did not then state that the probable cause of death was concussion from a blow. The ollicers present at the interview were no further advanced when Dr. Murray left the room than they were when he entered. (Proceeding.)