Long baton or cuts in service, warn police

Press, 17 January 1985, Page 1

Long baton or cuts in service, warn police

The police may not be willing to go out on the beat without long batons, according to the secretary of the Police Association. Dr Bob Moodie.

The police had had a “gutsful” of assaults and abuse because they did not have effective equipment, he said in Christchurch yesterday. Unless the long PR24 batons were placed on general issue immediately, police officers might be reluctant to go out on the streets and particularly dangerous places, such as Cathedral Square, would not be policed, he said. “We have reached the point that police officers will not be going on the streets without it.” Association members were not making threats and there was no question of a strike, but they had gone beyond asking; they had started demanding, he said. “They are quite happy to do the job, they just want the gear to do it,” said Dr Moodie. There were virtually daily incidents where the police were endangered because the long batons were not on general issue. The police were reluctant to use the short batons because they were dangerous, he said. The Commissioner of Police, Mr Ken Thompson, said last month that there was no intention of placing long batons on personal issue, and the existing instructions for the use of long batons were adequate. He made a special trip to Christchurch this week to discuss police members’ grievances. Dr Moodie said that Mr Thompson was not facing up to the realities of modern policing. Long batons were no use sitting in

station store rooms, he said.

“It’s dangerous out there and some police officers are scared.”

Dr Moodie and the president of the association, Mr Keith Morrow, spoke to more than 100 Christchurch district members at a special meeting yesterday. He said that the discussion of grievances about working conditions was the biggest meeting of police he had seen in Christchurch.

Afterwards the Christchurch police demanded that the long baton be placed immediately on general issue to Christchurch

district staff, in the interests of police safety and effectiveness. They also required “significant staff increases to achieve a realistic level of back-up support for front line officers.” Dr Moodie said that the Christchurch district’s need for extra staff was urgent. About 100 to 150 extra people were needed. About three years ago the association had asked for 100 extra staff in the district and since then it had got 12. At times there were only five policemen or women patrolling in Christchurch.

“It’s totally unreal, it’s

ridiculous,” said Dr Moodie. A consistent police staffing policy was needed, with long-term planning. “There’s something of a revolt going on in this district. They are saying we have had enough.”

The police in other parts of New Zealand felt the same as those in Christchurch, he said. Pay was also discussed at the special meeting yesterday. Dr Moodie said that big increases in salaries were wanted, but the main issues at the meeting were the use of long batons and staffing increases.