Cards cause concern

Press, 17 May 1989, Page 2

Cards cause concern

PA Wellington The police administrators say they are unhappy about officers handing out public complaint cards addressed to the Prime Minister. The cards are part of a Police Association campaign aimed at taking pressure off officers, who say they are being abused for not turning out to incidents when short-staffed. The association’s industrial advocate, Mr Graham Harding, said the cards were merely a vehicle for members of the public who wanted to complain. They had not been issued with any

sinister political -motive, and had been addressed to the Prime Minister because he was the one controlling the purse strings, not the police. The cards were a positive way of channelling public frustration away from the police, Mr Harding said. “Say there’s a theft from your car. Unless someone comes into the station and admits to it, it’s not going to be investigated. That’s the reality of it.” He said that, increasingly, suspects for minor offences were left alone until they were arrested for some other offence. A note would be made on the computer and the earlier charges laid.