ON AND OFF THE BEAT

Evening Post, Volume XCIX, Issue 83, 8 April 1920, Page 6

ON AND OFF THE BEAT

STRENGTH OF POLICE

FORCE

PRESENT AND PRE-WAR FIGURES

During the past few months rumours have gained ground, not alone in Wellington, that the New Zealand Police Force is slowly but surely falling away in strength, and is already far below pre-war or even war strength on account of the fact that the members are dissatisfied with the pay, particularly that of the lower non-commissioned ranks. .A series of facts and figures supplied..by the Commissioner of Police, Mr. J. O'Donovan, to a Post reporter to-day goes far to disprove such statements. There is, as in all professions and callings at the .present time, dissatisfaction in regard to remuneration, and members of the various branches of the Police Association recently met to discuss, and decide upon demands for increased pay. The decision reached after local deliberations &nd correspondence between the various branches was to-ask the ■ Minister for Police, the Right.Hon. W: F. Massey, to place before Cabinet a proposal th it the present rates of pay should be increased 6s per day, and that the uniform and boct allowance should be increased from £5 to £10 per annum. ■ Should Cabinet decide.that the.members of the Force are.entitled to a furiher increase in pay, such increment will b» as.from Ist April, 1920. The question is now under consideration. ;

"Let me say at once that the statements made that the Fores has "fallen away in personnel are incorrect," said ■ Mr. O'Donovah, "and that there is no Letter ground for the statement that the resignations are out of proportion wbevi compared with those of pre-war days; in fcict, the percentage of withdrawals, _ including withdrawals on account of sick-, ness, 'dismissals, retirements pn super-' aunuation. death, for domestic and other reasons, is lower than it was in many prewar year* " i Official figures taken from the annual - Parliamentary reports upon the.. Force supplied the following facts, the last column indicating total loss through all causes:— • Total., "Kesig- Total,; Year.- strength. < nations. loss; •' 1914 . 870 . 34 56 1915' •-. 911 • 19 43 1916 ... 916 . 30 . . 55 1917 ... 838 41 , 60 1918 ... 845 34 ' 60 .■ 1919 ... 791 30 62 • 1920 .... . 915-:--..r,-"-:37 ,60 In each case the.figures are taken up" to 31st March. Elaborating on these'figures, the Commissioner said that the annual loss to the Force, on account of all withdrawals, had been very much the same for many years past. For instance, in 11908 there were 60 withdrawals ; in 1909, 59; in. 1910, 63; and in '1911, when all rankstotalled'7Bß, 60. " Be-pointed ou¥ that--the Military Service. Act came'iritxi force towards the end of 1916, and that the last squad of trained recruits, of five-men only, was discharged from the ■ Police Training Depot in December, 1916. From then on, owing, to the operations of the Military Service Act, recruiting for r the Force* practically -ceased* for the timt, and, but for.the. fact -that.-speciaLlegis-lation was passed to provide for the appointment of temporary constables, there was no donbtthat the Police Force would Kave been in a bad way by now. Recruiting ■ again • commenced • toward s the ■ end of 1918 (following the declaration of the termination of hostilities), with more than a little success, for from Ist April, 1919, to Ist April, 1920, 127 new constables were appointed, and of these 22 had since resigned for various reasons. Objections had been raised by ' writers in certain North Island newspapers, said the Commissioner, to the fact that, the Department was now accepting men of the age of twenty years. . Actually, he said, that had always been the custom,.and in some cases men who had not attained that age were admitted ,to the Force. He mentioned the case of .late-Commissioner Tunbridge, who had: been sworn in as a member.of the Royal Irish Constabluary at the age of seventeen years. With regard to the questions of transfer and promotion- among members of the detective force, Mr. O'Donovan explained that provision had been made to enable detectives and detective-sergeants who so wished to revert to uniform ; rank, and so gain promotion in this branch of the service. Several such transfers, particulars of which have already appeared in The Post, have, now been made, and others will follow. Anumber of transfers will follow as a •corollary, and it will be necessary to promote probationary detectives to full rank, and to fill their places by the appointment of constables from the uniform or plainclothes branches. My O'Donovan stated that if the applications continued to com© in as they have done for some months . past it would be possible to reopen the training' depot within' a short time.