Police Training School To Move To Wellington

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27735, 12 August 1955, Page 7

Police Training School To Move To Wellington

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, August 11. A national police school, which will be the centre for police training, including recruit training, cadet training, and specialist and refresher courses, is to be formed in Wellington, as part of long-range plans to increase the efficiency of the Police Force. Making this announcement the Prime Minister (Mr Holland ) said that the school would be initially housed in existing buildings, probably at the Trentham Army Camp, but that a site for a permanent police school was being sought. The new national police school would replace the existing school at Lyttelton, which had been conducted in a war-time naval barracks. This was considered inadequate for the planned revision and. extension of the whole scheme of police training. Mr Holland also announced the appointment of a director of police training. The first holder of the post will be Mr D. G. Ball, who is to retire soon as Assistant-Director of Education, and who was Director of Army Education during World War 11. Mr Ball was a member of a special committee which recently investigated and reported on. police training in New Zealand. Other members of the committee were Lieutenant-Colonel W. R. K. Morrison, of the New Zealand Permanent Staff, and Inspector W. R. Murray, of the Police Force. “What the Government has generally in mind in this major police policy decision is to provide modern training for the highly-skilled and specialised duties which the police are called on to perform,” Mr Holland said. “Very good work has been done with

the limited facilities which have been available at the Lyttelton school, .but the committee has found that existing provisions are not adequate for the launching of an over-all training scheme, such as those which have been found valuable for police forces in overseas countries. The Government is in agreement with the committees findings in this matter.” Mr Holland said that the Government had examined the highly-suc-cessful armed forces training and specialist course programmes, both during the war and since then, and considered that they laid down a pattern that could be introduced with good results into the Police Force. It was considered fortunate that Mr Ball, with his wide experience of services training and the general educational system of New Zealand, should be available to direct the initial stages of the new police training scheme. Mr Holland said that a number of recommendations by the committee was still under examination by the Government. It was, however, intended to give special attention to the training of recruits, and when the national police school was established the present initial training course would be extended, with emphasis on practical police duties. The school would also use modern teaching aids. The training scheme would also contain provision for training members of the force at successive stages in their service, preparing them for promotion to higher rank and for the carrying out of specialist duties. A further important step would be the prepara- . tion of a concise and informative i police manual, designed to be of prac- , tical assistance to the recruit and i police constable.