THE POLICE FORCE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXXII, Issue 15524, 26 January 1911, Page 7

THE POLICE FORCE.

THE AGE LIMIT. [From Our Correspondent.] DUNEDIN, January 25. As with the Christchurch deputation who asked for the reinstatement of Inspector Gillies, the Dunedin representative citizens who waited on the Minister of Justice asking that Inspector O'Brien should not be retired received cold comfort. Having heard their views, Dr Findlay said he would like to make it clear at onco tuat Inspector O'Brien's retirement was due to no reasons personal to that onicer whatever. (near, near.) He had known Inspector U'iSrien for some years, and so rar as his judgment had gone he was in a position to cnuorse all that haci been said by his friends today. It Inspector O'Brien's retirement had been uue t.o any personal reasons, and these reasons were not well founded, it wouid be an easy matter to reconsider the Department's determination regarding his retirement, but the request the deputation made involved a great deal more than that. To put it plainly, they were asidng him to reverse the poncy which he, as Minister of Justice, deemed to be in the best permanent interests or the police toree, and, frankly, while the policy he had mentioned, migut bear hardly in one case, ho believed the deputation's judgment wouid appi'ove or that policy, which was this>: that a police oliicer, alter he had passed nis sixtieth year, and at any rate beiore he had readied his sixty-fifth year, should, unless owing to some exceptional circumstances, ue retired, so long as nis retirement left him with a comfortable superannuation. .Now, tne reasons for tuat might be very shortly stated. The deputation said that Inspector O'Brien was a man of vigour still. Tnere was no douot at all tuat after a man had served for many years, and had reached a year past sixty and was nearing sixty-five, he did not possess tne mental and physical activities and the general vigour requisite to the most successiul discharge of his duties. There might be exceptional instances, but they had to proceed upon the average and general rule. That was the first principle. After those years were reached vigour as a rule began to decline. It was his duty to look to the interests of the force and say whethor retirement on a comfortable superannuation should not be enforced. The second reason was this, and it was a cogent one: In his judgment they must make the police lorce more attractive te good men. Much of the safety of iife and property and the administration of the laws depended upon _ the intelligence, the integrity and the vigour of the police, and to obtain that intelligence, integrity and vigour they must attract good men. It could be done to some extent by increased remuneration. They had added to tne pay of the police during the last few years—find Mr Arnold had greatly helped in that direction—an expense to this country of something like £20,000 a year, but they must do it in another way as well, and that was, they must give reasonable prospects of promotion to men who had had a good career and who had proved themselves well qualified for higher places, and if the higher officers were to remain in their places until they were sixty-five or more thoso men became, soured and disappointed, their energies and interests dwindled, and they did not get that service they would otherwise get from them. Another thing was that when an inspector or any other officer received what he considered was a comfortable retiring allowance (£275 a year in this case), he ought to cheerfully recognise that he had earned the leisure of his retirement and had left behind him an honourable record. The remaining years of his life were provided for, and, whether he liked- it or not, he ought to accept that leisure and give way to the men who had been waiting,' perhaps for a decade, for a higher place in tho force. Ho said that was the policy which he, as Minister of Justice, intended to pursue. This was not the first case in which he, had been approached by friends of' an officer who had been called upon to retire under similar circumstances, and Ire had to say to them as he had to say to this deputation that either he must give up that policy or refuse to make exceptions. The Government had approved of that policy, and he said to the deputation with all courtesy and respect that ho proposed to pursue it. The aspects from which they looked at the matter unfortunately differed. Tho deputation looked at it from the point of view of friendship. Ho was looking at it from a colder point of view—that was the force as a whole. It was his duty to do so, and while he fully appreciated the motives that had brought them there to-day—lie would probably have been one of them himself if ho had been a private citizen—ho was going to tell them that he coltkl not see his way to depart from a policy which ho considered was in tho best interests of tho police force. They must give those who had been in subordinate positions for many years some prospect of the higher places, and that could not be done if the rule were to stand that men could remain in the higher positions until they were*sixtyfive and more. If there were any concession that could he made to Inspector O'Brien with regard to his retiring allowance and the law would permit him granting it that was another matter altogether. He would be entitled to the fullest consideration that tho law would give, and lie would Icok into it and see if anything could bo done in that direction.