Police advise on suspect parcels

Press, 31 March 1981, Page 7

Police advise on suspect parcels

PA Wellington The police have supplied all members of Parliament with a card advising them how to recognise suspicious packages, and what action to take if one crosses their desk. The director of drug enforcement and intelligence at Police National Headquarters, Detective Chief Inspector W. A. R. Galbraith, said the “aide memoire” had been issued after discussions on Parliamentary security. It had been supplied as a matter of routine rather than in respect of any incident. He said the police considered it advisable to remind members of Parliament what to do “in the unlikely event of finding suspicious packages.” “The police crime prevention section or the bomb data centre is happy to advise anyone how to deal with

suspicious objects as part of the service we provide to the community,” said Mr Galbraith. With the card to members of Parliament went an accompanying letter from the Minister of Police (Mr Couch). The Minister wrote that while “letter bombs have been comparatively rare in New Zealand, they are not uncommon in other parts of the world and it cannot be expected that people in the public eye in this country will remain immune from the danger.” Mr Couch said it was essential that threatening letters be dealt with. “While some may be dismissed as harmless, it is nevertheless important that their authors be apprehended before those who are deranged, serious, or determined attempt to follow their threats with action.”