THE POLICE FORCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17662, 24 December 1920, Page 7

THE POLICE FORCE.

| NEW REGULATIONS ISSUED. | | | COMMISSIONER'S ADVICE. { STANDING IN - NO MAN'S LAND." The first regulations passed under the Police Force Act have now been issued. In a prelude to. the regulations. Commissioner O'Donovan has some interesting j comments to make. We now come to the time." he says, when organised bodies of the com- i munitv, bent on obtaining rights or ad- j vantages, and impatient with oonstitu- ! tional and moral methods, seek to gain j their end?, by disturbance, violence, and I I illegal means. The conflicting parties ! | divide into hostile camps. Our dutv in J such a condition is to preserve peace and project life axid property. We take up our stand unmoved on ' No Man's Land.' and compel the conflicting parties to retire to the constitutional trenches, and to j have recourse only to legal and moral 1 measures. This is the position assigned j to the po'.iee of every State within the j Empire, and also of those States whose | system of jurisprudence and government j is rooted in the British tradition- On ; such an occasion a member of the force , who considers that one of the parties has a greater claim upon his allegiance than the established Government is not quali i tied to discharge the duties he has undertaken on oath without favour or affection. He is called upon only to enforce the criminaJ law (which favours no party) in order that life and property and order may be preserved ; if this entails too great a strain upon his sympathies he should retire in good time from the force." Obligations and Duties. To the members of the force the commissioner says:—"As you rightly insist! tha.t all persons treat your authoritv i with respect, so also it is incumbent on you to render to all persons in superior positions in the State the respect due (o their rank and authority. The regulation requires you to render many of such persons formal and respectful recognition by a salute. You should take care to acquaint yourselves with these persons. To your own superior officers you should be uniformly respectful and" obedient. Nothing so cleariv exhibits the value and force of training and discipline as your ! attitude toward your officers. Instead of carping at their orders and finding fault -with the arrangements they make, endea-vour to leam the purpose underlying these matters, so that- you, whpn your time comes to take up their duties, may have the necessarv knowledge and understanding of administrative work, and not have t-o begin with the slow and disagree- [ able process of rectifying the erroneous j ideas created by wrong construction of ; your present superiors' methods. "No man is fit to command unless he has first well learned how to obey." Retiring Officers. 11l the course of an interview, Commissioner O'Donovan referred to the regulations: " Provisions are made," he said. " that commissioned officers of the police force, on retirement, whether before or after the commencement of the new regulations, may be permitted to retain their j rank, and .to weaf the prescribed uni- ; form armropriate to such rank, on official j or public occasions, ihe. letter ' R ' to be j ■worrr on the shoulder straps, to indicate the retired list. The retaliations also pro- i vide that inspectors and sub-inspectors, ! on retirement after 15 years' service, as j commissioned officers, mav receive a step I of honorary rank in recognition of good ! and efficient service." An important clause is ;' dealing with j prosecutions for perjury, which are not to j be instituted by the uolice at the request j of private persons, who have been engaged : in litigation, unless the authority of the j Attorney-General (Sir Francis Bell) is first ! obtained. " This is obviously necessary," said ! Commissioner O'Donovan, " because in j j innumerable occasions of litgation one j : party asserted that the other party of witnesses committed perjury, and urged the police to take action. This, of course, does not interfere in any way with the existing practice of instituting prosecutions for perjury at the instance of magistrates or judges of the Supreme Court." Other Clauses. Another subject- relates to the holding of inquests, burial of deceased persons who have been the subject of coroners' inquests, dealing with their property, and j instructions relating to the investigation of culpable homicide. Almost a new chapter of regulations j deals with street accidents, such as inci- i dental to tramcars, motor-cars, and other • vehicles, and to accidents aboard ships in t i harbour, also to factory and workshops | ! involving the loss of life, and serious ' | injury. | With regard to the detective branch of the force, regulations embodving the recommendations of the Commission of Tn [ quiry apolied by the Hon. T. M. Wil- i ford in 1919, regarding the appointment j of detectives, and the settlement c.f the ; status of that branch, in relation to the ; uniform branch. are amended. The method of dealins with lost End j found property also receives special atten- j tion. Correspondence and reports is a ; subject dealt with in minute detail. | Many minor alterations have been ! made.