THE POLICE FORCE

NZ Truth, Issue 181, 5 December 1908, Page 1

THE POLICE FORCE

And the Causes of Discontent.

It is a most v Remarkable fact that whilst the conditions 'of the employees m vther branches of the Civil. Service of He Dominion, improve with the flight of time. the-Foliee Force seems to remain stagnant^ or even worse, as the whole policy of this branch of ttie GbvemmentService appears to be- one olr&iiroiuission rather than progression^ A little investigation into the cause , of the discontent which prevails amongst the majority of the members of » the Police Forc%bo.th uniformed and: plauiKilOthes men— and the; general inefficiency of the body by. aa impartial-observer will, quicks ly reveal the reason for , this regrettable state of afiuirs which threatens to assume alarming proportions m the very near future, unless some effectual means pf remedying the menu's grievances is Sickly devised. To% general: :pUDlicthe. Police, it must be recognised, live m a world of their pwn-the policeman's lot appears to be a remarkably pleasant one, as~heis regarded simply as a; man m blue who has no Vpther' occupation to pass the time wi& other than .walking or loafing about the streets'. In fact./the 1 general impression is Jbbat ., the ...cppfevlife is ' a toS's job', tbist Howeverj. as even a perfunctory knowledge will show, is about the greatest fallacy In the first instance -it niust be remembered that a policeman is 'always on duty and is lia- \ hie to be called upon at atty time. But \ the chief grievance under which the po- \ • licemen Labor is the, utter lack of consid- \ eration shown them, particularly/ iD re\gard to the necessity of improving their conditions and surroundings. For 'some unexplained reason the sum ol 7s 6d per dVy is considered, ample pay for men whose duty it is to be at the beck and caJl of the ever-expectant, public at a moment's notice, and who are ' subject to T fe«hlg exposed to every risk,' physicaranamental. It may be contended that such extreW emergencies do not frequently occur! but 'that is not the question for consideration, as the policeman' is the man Wfto, \if they should occur, is caltted upon to act and is the responsible party and has -to bear the brunt, of stfch emergencies. V-: •v. ■ -\ . ,''... ..

To put ' the" matter plainly, hoy many members of it? public would tint their brains and,, ladies at 7s 6tl per diem, from •which ntu|||%eldeduct€d reasondhle living «apsnses^ icT'iace any unexpected or suUden danger frbm which they may not jig unless they are prepared to -. stand disgraced or to be branded'as a coward and regarded as a shame to the uniform t|iey ■wear? Not many would be wiliing to undertake the conditions and" the risk attaching thereto for -so miserabie a pittance. And' yet' when young men of brain and muscle do enlist m the Force, Nthe 1 consideration shown them is so slight that they lose no time, m resigning and seeking fresh spheres where their services will be 'better appreciated arid where they ■will be more adequately remunerated." In the matter pi leave,; the police are ; treated/ 'as 'scurvily as is possible. AY most, all that the policeman .can expect'is S"uridav oft once m six weeks, oltenerf at longer, periods, yet- there are times; ; when several men could be spared for a day's leave, but they 'are allowed to" fa'll ; '6ver one anotlier on such occasions; no more: interestir,; , occupation thiin killing time under tiie ins tractions of ' theii ' officers, who certainly are not entirely' ■'. to blame for this remarkable state : 6f affairs, as any. charge must be riiade against the fountain head; the officers "not being allowed to altej:- the routine wrthbut special authority. . There appears to be rio justifiable reason" why" the men' should not have at least 'one day's leave per fortnight, and this could be easily arranged by each reOief having its complement of men, plus one extra, who -would lift the gap caused each day by the men bavins their leave m rotation. In what othor branch. of .the Civil Service are the employees compelled to work/; roughly, SCO days m the 'year (including the 12 days' annual leave) ? Other departments ol the Civil Service obtain the benefit of all Government holidays,, a half holiday each Saturday, and every Sunday;' -How does this, work but lh comparison v with the poor unfortunate policemen 'who on public holidays work almost double hours and receive neither- extra pay -'n'or f; time off subsequently as compensation 'for the ■ftxtra. hours s worked? The pohcemari's •lirt'', m fact, . appears to t« like '-that 1 - of .Tennyson's brook, "it goes on "for "ever," and the, public does not seem,to catenas, after all, "they are only policemen." Where is' the boasted ._ democratic legisla*k>»-, of an eight-hour day, sp tar'as the

Police Force is concerned ? Are they en- 1 " tirely excluded, and if so, why ? Is 7s 6d for a twelve hours day a fair rate of wages, as the policeman's duty oftener than not works out at twelve hours per day. -Then, again, contrary to the general impression, policemen do not get their uniforms free, but have to pay for the making of their own tunics and trousers and purchase their own boots, the latter often not a light item m more ' senses than one. Then; again, sport is not encouraged-^ amongst the 'members .of the Force, but rather the reverse. There is not, even at the chief station of the Dominion, a gymnasium of any sort provided. Why is this ? Otfagf . branches of the service and other institutions seem to get grants for any fad : that is suggested, but m the case of the Police Force this most necessary and beneficial ..accessory is not only not encouraged, but is seemingly never even thought of. And yet is is essential th^t. members of the Police Force should be encouraged to keep fit and . healthy, and m fact m the very best trim, m order to be capable .of tackling anything they may be called upon to do.

There are police forces which have not been established so long as /the New Zealand force, where the authorities are enterprising enough to provide libraries, recreation rooms, plus billiard room, and gymnasium, and these are greatly appreciated. This country is generally boomed as being one of fair play and sport, but these factors are conspicuous by their absence, so far as the Police Force is concerned. And what is the reason for it? Tha. chief reason is largely due to the mistaken idea which prevails m high official circles of preferring import-, ed .experts,, or alleged experts,, to the colonial , produced . : one. Where is the self-assurance of New V'ZeMaiiders m this respect.? Why cannot we have at. the head of our concerns men wiio hays lseeri bred, or who have, spent the best >I their days,, amongst us, men who can and, will take such a genuine and hearty interest m the welfare of those under .

Jojiarge, whilst, 'at the same time, discharging their duties to the , country ; faithfully and well, and will .produce the co-operation of all section^, and thus cnr sure that cordial relationship . between: I superior and subordinate ' Which means ;efiiciency, arid which virtues are, under , existing conditions, eritirely lacking so . far as the' Police Force is ' concerned. The Gfbvernment impdrted Commissioner fDirinie at a 'high salary, and he is -now, just f what he was when hd ' set foot on these shores, a hired'' alien vwho ; has . landed here merely to take froTn ; this country and its iaxpayersV hundreds of g pounds, with the ultimate ' ' intention of returning witjti i'/ weiMlled ' stocking to 1 his biraw hame, and" who 'ha's actually set himself down for an increase in' salary, Exceeding that of any of his- rr'c^Bssors. This craze for everything imported •seems t<T have no limi-tl' and ' does not show any .confidence m the abilities of bur own people, despite our much-adver-tised virtues and the resources of God's Own' Country. The ■ plain fact of the matter is, not to enlarge too greatly on the subject, that the chief of thip police, Commissioner Dirinie, is exceedingly unpopular, and this naturally reflects - on the Force ' generally." 'The pfrblic scorn the Force and tjie members' are 'social outcasts. Why,; this is so 'is hard to say: True, there are bad eggs among the'members of the Police' Force, but, taken as a whole, they are a 1 decent body of men, and there , are; many who. could give points to 'people;, "in"' a more elevated sphert of life- So far as being a social putcast is. concerned, the policeman does not need to trouble 'about Wellington -society generally, as it: does 'not cpunt lor much, tlie young ift'eh portion .of It axo merely fops and pasty-faced younp lady killers ; the females are over dressed and sell over-estimated, though ■far more manly and sensible than the .males, - , '" ; ' ■ '. ' " ■•■■ ..*.,'' ■•■■■."'•' ' ' ■■ , .So far, as the .general body of the police is concerned m, Wellington,' great dissatislaction prevails m the barracks, and resignations and talk of . resignations is forever m the air.. And Commissioner ; Binnie s ** s snug, .m .his office and never takes the trouble to personally enquire into the grievances of, the men who are the backbone -of the Pdxce.- It is his privilege . and his duty to act fairly and squarely by all, andjf lie did this there (would) be less dissatislactipn amongst the men and greater, consideration shown by tba non-commissioned officers of the

rank and file! Complaints axe general that many of the non-commissioned officers, that is the sergeants, are totally unfitted for the positions they hold, with the result that the men are subjected •to little annoyances which may be only pin pricks, but are, nevertheless, irritating and harassing. Of Inspector Ellison and Sub-Inspector Phair the men speak m I glowing and respectful terms, but they and bitterly so, of the treatment tihey receive from .some of "their immediate superiors, whilst, they also as- ; sert that m the failureiof '. Commissioner Pinnae to interest himself m the welfare of the Force generally, lies/ the whole •crux of the discontent -which exists, and ■which is driving young and capable constables out of the service daily. A question "Truth" would ' lilce Commissioner Dinnie to" answer, is why does he state that a man who desires to leave the Force before the compilation of twelve months' service, is only making a convenience of the Force, and is not • worthy of a discharge. Surely this is .a most autocratic stand to take and requires more than a casual explanation. Per-' haps Minister McGowan will wake up some day and find it necessary; to speak' severely to 1 the autocrat of the Police' Force for his undemocratic demeanor m administering his office as Chief of the PoKot.

Whether or^not it rests with; Minister McGowan to • institute some in'qoiiry into Commissioner Dinnie's administration ol the Police Force, this paper can, hardly forbear from attempting to predict that the next Parliament will be prompt to ventilate the grievances, the disabilities of policemen, and to thoroughly sift the oft-repeated allegations that Commissioner Dinnie's administration is^ too partial to be pure. Indications are not wanting that more than one member of Parliament will display more* than usual «vetivity m making: a demand for an inquiry. And this fortunate fact has to. be remembered. Sir Joseph Ward, who has stajbed that no dissatisfaction could be found (with Dinnie's management of the Police Force, will be confronted with an Opposition that will not only command respect but will decline to be buli-dbsed and. bounced into an ignominious silence, as was tlfe j case, m the last Parliament, ' wtien supporters of Ward dared, so strong had Dinnie's misrule become, to raise protesting voices against Dinnie's altogether too apparent partiality for his pets as against honest, conscientious, painstaking officers, whose zeal, whose cleverness earned special commendation from an occupant of the- Supreme Court Bench, the Chamber Commerce and leading citizens. • this paper plainly states j that it has no time for Dinnie. Week m and week dut we have exposed his wretched system of encouraging pimping and spying. We have shown that promotion was not earned by faithful service but by the gift or the recommendation of Dinnie. He has made the Police Force a sort of family affair. His attitude on the Police Provident Fund showed that he was endeavoring to feather his own nest. Unpopular, \ hated, if not feared, by his', subordinates, j his administration, has savored of an a?> .tocracy. Sufficient material is on hand on which to base a discussion m Parliament, and with that material , we are strongly of the opinion that Dinnie will be forced either to . men"fl" or bend. . We have here afforded a lesson of the worthlessness of seeking a boss bobby from London. Dinnie is admittedly an ignorant and therefore prejudiced man: By the force of strange circumstances he is pftaced as superior over men more than Ms equal m every respect, and the mournful spectacle is here presented of lions being led by an ass. More could be said of' Dinnie's misrule. We have maintained a ceaseless agitation for an inquiry into the administration of the Police Force. Pending further developments m "Parliament,. "Truth" prefers at this stage to stay its hand: Suffice it, however, to remark, the time is how ripe for that inquiry, and we doubt whether Joseph Ward's ingenuity of' his craftiness will enable him to throw the Ministerial! . mantle of protection round this public servant, whose Masonic grip, club influence and other pulls have enabled hini to stave off the -in emesis that has long been on' his traetfT