Former Constable Forged Certificate

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30940, 22 December 1965, Page 14

Former Constable Forged Certificate

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, Dec. 21. A former police constable appeared before Mr J. B. Thomson, S.M, today charged with forging a Police Department certificate of legal discharge purporting to be signed by the Commissioner of Police, Mr C. L. Spencer, and also with failing to return his police identification card.

Rodney William Ernest Cook, aged 21, a welder, pleaded guilty to both charges and was convicted and fined £3O. costs £1 10s on the first and £lO, and costs, on the second. The Magistrate refused an application by Cook for suppression of name. Detective-Sergeant A. H. Hart said that Cook joined the police force as a constable on July 23,1964. and served most of the next 12 i months in Wellington, before handing in his resignation, which was to become effective from August 8, 1965. While in the force Cook was issued with a service record book which he was entitled to keep. Detective Sergeant Hart said. After giving notice, but before it became effective. Cook filled out the discharge form

which was in the back of the book and forged the signature of the Commissioner of Police by tracing it from his identification card. On the form he made out his period in the force as being two years. When questioned about the matter on December 20, the accused said that he had only done it as he wanted to arrange further employment while on resignation leave. Mr Thomson told the accused that he would take into account the fact that he would have eventually got the document correctly made out. “This forgery merely antici. pated something which would have happened, but I must also take into account that it is very serious to forge anyone's signature," he said.