POLICE AND PUBLIC Public Well Served In Spite Of Staff Problem

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31236, 7 December 1966, Page 29

POLICE AND PUBLIC Public Well Served In Spite Of Staff Problem

. 'Bv Our Police Reporter} It has been said by members of the New Zealand Police in recent years—from a superintendent downwards, although only once in public—that efficiency is lost because the force comprises all chiefs and no Indians,” or “it is getting like the Portuguese Navy, all admirals and no ships.”

The Police Department annual reports disclose a greater increase in commissioned officers and noncommissioned officers than in other ranks, constables and detectives. There are valid reasons for the increase in the number of officers and N.C.O.s, but the situation would bear examination.

In 1960. the total strength nf the police was 2453. At March 31, this year, it was 2749. Commissioned officers in 1960 totalled 56, compared with 91 this year: there were 370 N.C.O.s in 1960, compared with 532 this year, and 1983 constables (and detectives) compared with 2126 this year. The total strength has increased by 296 (12 per cent), the number of officers by 35 (62 per cent), N.C.O.s by 162 (45 per cent) and constables by 143 (7 per cent). In 1960, there were 10 commissioned officers in the senior ranks (superintendent to commissioner). This year the number has grown to 34 (240 per cent increase). In the seven years, an additional 197 officers and N.C.O.s have been appointed while the number of constables has increased by 143.

In 1960. there was one officer and/or N.C.O. to every 5.8 constables; this year the ratio is one to 4.4.

The Police Department could justifiably say that there were insufficient officers and N.C.O.s as at March 31, 1960: that the five-day week, earlier retiring age, specialist sections and increase in the strength and crime rate in the seven years up to March 31, 1966. are the reasons for the large increases in the number of senior officers, officers and N.C.O.s.

Chairborne

But almost without exception, those from the rank of senior-sergeant upwards are administrators and are doing desk work for 98 per cent of their time on duty. Last month 38 sergeants were promoted to seniorsergeant. and 27 constables promoted to sergeant Five inspectors were promoted to chief-inspector, and 10 seniorsergeants have been recommended for promotion to inspector.

Up to 1956. a policeman had from 20 to 30 years of beat, patrol and inquiry work before he was appointed a senior-sergeant or became a commissioned officer—an administrator. He was an older, more experienced man who could appreciate a desk job after a score or more years of hard, physical work. Younger Officers

Today, a policeman can be made an inspector or a seniorsergeant at the age of 26, when he is young and in the prime of physical life. He has only a few years of experience In the basic police duties of protecting the public and property. preventing crimes and apprehending law breakers, by beat, patrol and inquiry work, and becomes an administrator who spends most of his time at a desk.

The Police Department still clings to the idea that a policeman with the rank of seniorsergeant and above must be a desk man, an administrator, when the days of taking 20 years to attain the rank of senior-sergeant have long since passed. The police say (Inspector B. W. Gibson) that they are under-staffed. The public

might well think that the police are over-officered and over-administered.

The police say (Inspector Gibson) that they must have; more and better equipment' because they have not enough men. The public might say, who is going to use the walkietalkie radios, and so on? The police say (Commissioner C. L. Spencer) that they must have more men on the streets and on patrol. The public might reply that if the number of administrators was reduced the number of policemen on the streets could be increased.

Constables Sought It is significant that the superintendent in charge of the uniform branch in the Christchurch police district says that 40 more constables are needed to police the district efficiently; and the chief detective in Christchurch says the C. 1.8. would do its work better with 15 more detectives. They are not seeking 40 more officers or n.c.o.’s or 15 more detective-sergeants or higher ranks, but constables and detectives.

Colours Flying

In this series of articles, the police in Christchurch particularly, and the New Zealand Police generally, have been examined critically and searchingly—and have come through with colours flying. Currently, the New Zealand police are under-staffed and under-paid. But the Government has promised to increase the number of police (National Party election manifesto) and an application for pay increases is before the Police Staff Tribunal. Crimea of Dishonesty

The police are combating a steep and continuing rise in the number of crimes being committed (an increase of 121 per cent last year compared with a 2.1 per cent increase in population) and are faced with a vast increase in crimes of dishonesty committed by an ever-growing number of young persons, many of whom offend again soon after their first apprehension and release. In Good Heart

Yet the police are in good heart. They work hard, work long hours, study to pass examinations for promotion; learn specialist duties, recruit civil defence police, inspect hotels to make sure the carpets have no holes and the blinds are in good order; go out on mountains in blizzards on ice and in snow to rescue climbers. disarm lunatics with rifles: inform relatives of the death of loved ones in accidents; take young girls home to parents who do not even know they are out at 3 a.m.; search for and find hundreds of missing persons a month; help elderly women into their houses after they have locked themselves out, attend fires, accidents, sudden deaths; comfort pensioners robbed of money, spend hours, even days, looking for lost children. . . . The Chicago Police Chief is astounded that the New Zealand police do not carry guns. In Chicago, the police have a gun exposed on the hip, and another concealed. Fired No Shots

The New Zealand police armed offenders squads, called out only when a person, or persons, is known to be armed, or shots have been fired, have not fired a shot in two years, but have rescued persons held hostage by desperate prisoners; disarmed lunatics, talked unbalanced persons into giving up weapons. . . . New Zealand policemen carry batons but apart from prison riots and an industrial strike, not one policeman in 100 has ever had to draw his baton let alone use

it. Violence breeds violence, and the use of guns brings counter-use.

The New Zealand Police have a crime-clearing rate better than most English-speaking countries. Their serious crimesolving rate is better than in any country in the British Commonwealth.

Nothing To Fear

The innocent person in New Zealand has nothing to fear from the police. The persons with guilty minds have nothing to fear except justice. There are no beatingsup, no third-degree, no grillings under arc-lamps, no holding on suspicion, no listening devices.

Occasionally, a policeman is found to have broken the law, broken the Judges’ Rules. There is a public outcry, and the senior officers or Minister of Police complain that the published reports of such rare incidents spoil the “public image” of the New Zealand Police.

In fact, the outcry demonstrates that the public not only expects but demands a high standard in its police. The greater the outcry the more complimentary it is to the New Zealand Police. It will be a sad day when misdemeanours by policemen are greeted with indifference. Serious offences against the law, against justice, against innocent persons, and against the police regulations are so few that the public outcry is a genuine protest against such unusual behaviour. The New Zealand Police enjoy excellent relations with the general public because the senior officers will not permit bullying, indiscriminate use of arms, batons or physical force, or rudeness. They investigate complaints and take disciplinary action when the complaints are shown to be well founded.

The Police Department, from the Minister of Police and Commissioner downwards, has reason to be proud of the police force, and should show its pride more often in public. The policemen carry out a surprisingly wide range of duties loyally, efficiently and with courtesy. The public has every reason to be proud of the police, to place confidence in the New Zealand Police and trust in individual members. Even professional criminals admit, ruefully, to getting a fair deal from the police. In New Zealand, innocent persons are not “framed” by the police. The New Zealand Police needs more men: the public need not be frightened of more policemen provided the present high standards of police work are maintained. The Christchurch police recruiting officer reports that the general stamp and educational qualifications of applicants to join the police have improved steadily and noticeably in the last five years.