Sirens again?

Press, 20 January 1982, Page 1

Sirens again?

New Zealand’s police cars have still not been fitted with sirens a year after they were approved by the Commissioner of Police (Mr R. J. Walton).

“It is difficult to speculate when they will be fitted.” said the director of management services at National Police Headquarters in Wellington, Superintendent I. N. Bird, yesterday. “Money was not available during the last financial year.”

Finance for the sirens would be included in this year’s draft police budget, which would be submitted for approval “in a month or two,” Superintendent Bird said.

But the budget was “a matter of priorities,” and Superintendent Bird was not

sure whether the request for sirens would be approved this year. He estimated that it would cost about 8250,000 for the 700 sirens needed in New Zealand. These would be probably made here.

At the moment one car in Wellington had been fitted with a siren as an experiment.

Police cars used to have sirens until they were ordered removed after an accident in the early 19605, Superintendent Bird has said it has been found that police cars without sirens have trouble getting through dense traffic. Flashing lights were insufficient. Sirens will be fitted to all uniform-branch vehicles, which make up the bulk of the police fleet.