POLICE METHODS.

NZ Truth, Issue 326, 23 September 1911, Page 5

POLI CE METHODS.

v AN UNRESTING ARGIMENI^ ; l ' *■■ By a iiidgeaisd a Lawyer, - x** ' ; ' "" '. ' V .'-- "■'■' A Stolen Chain— Lawyer Singer as a Witness— His Honor is, Inquisitive — A Letter to the Press -^- Misunderstood V and Misrepresented— A Judicial Utterance— The. Character of the Police— -Prisoner Protests • his Innocence— Sentenced to Six Months' Imprisonment.

An interesting and unexpected turn wai given to a somewhat dreary case m the Auckland Supreme Court, by a verbal duel between Lawyer R,. A. Singer, who was m the witness-box,.' . and/.' Mr Justice Edwards. The case m progress was a charge of theft against one Roderick Ryan, who ' was ' alleged to have misappropriated ,« gold albert chain, a greenstone pendant, and a sovereign case from a retired Hamilton farmer, on January 25 last. When . the case was before the lower court. Lawyer Singer acted as counsel for the accused, but m the higher court Lawyer J. A. Luntlon appeared for. the defence. ' Mr Singer was called as a witness by counsel for the defence to give particulars of conversations with the accused, a : witnesa named Percival. Colqiiboun, and others. Later, being re-called, Lawyer Singer said Cdlquhouii. Vi-DMITTED HAVING-. TAKEN THE CHAIN and handed it to Ryan. Witness, however, did not know whether ,the statement was to be' relied upon or not. ■ His Honor wanted t D know if Wr Singer could give any reasons for not informing the police oi this, and an interesting argument followed be- ' tween the tw Q a.s to police methods Sn general. Mr Singer's reply to tho judge's question was, "Yes, I can. I think $t would be simply a . waste of "time. " His Honor : I will trouble you for an explanation. Mr Singer ; Well, I think that first of- 'all the police might not have believed me. Their simple answer .would be that I wanted ", to ."implicate someone olye m order to get my man off. Secondly, 'my experience with the police is that where there is a person who is a witness for the Crown, and he has givenevidence for the Crown, he is IMMUNE FROM PROSECUTION. His Honor : You -say then lhat if the police have unwillingly used a criminal as a witness, they persist an using ' him as & witness, and not treating him as a criminal after•Wards. "Mr Singer : I object to "that interpretation. What I suggest is that m cases ; where the police have either good suspicions, or are personally aware that a witness is ai party to. a crime, ' ' with respect to which he will be' a witness at the trial, it, is the. custom of the police, based on obvious reasons, to keep that person immun c from prosecution. His' Honor :" And to put the person forward as an absolutely reliable witness? Mr Singer : He may be perfectly Reliable. His Honor : .You say it is the custom of. the police to-.patyhim forward as a witness ? — Yes, and I can give you. instances. You say it is , the custom of the police, knowing a witness is a' party to a crime, to put him forward as jl witness of stainless character ? — I did not say stainless character. I have it down, and I am going to p'uti it to you; you say ft. ia tho CUSTOM- OF THE POLICE, knowing that a witness is o. partyto a crime, to' put him forward as a witness of- stainless character ? — I did not say that. If you will put a reliable witness, instead of a stainless character, I am prepared to accept it. It is not only so m this country, but m almost every Other part of the world, His Honor : Then it is one that should be known. Mr Singer : rt is well that, people;should know. it. His Honor ■: Deli ns what you mean by reliable witness ? — A witness who 5s reliable as .to the facts he is expected tq depose to.. Do you say that it is' the practice of the police to' put forward os a. reliable witness a person whom they know to be connected with a crime end ' suppressing; the facts ? — Who said suppressing the facts? T donot know of a case of suppression. What dp you mean when you . say a man 'mixed up with something shady is used as a witness ? — What I mean is that^ the police have put forward as witnesses oh many ■ occasions persons directly corns ected with crime, and they have been: pro- ' mised that they axe not to be, and never -will be, prosecuted for their Connection with such crime. Ynu practically rnc-y.n King's evidence ?— Partly, I do. It is quito plain, of course, that 5t ir, your rfc-rfcy t« tell the police ? -—The TJian JUIY HAVE KEEN LYING ' Jor sUI 7. know, and if J told the po- i ]ico he would deny it. I did not tell. . the police, too, because T did not i think it would have resulted m any- j thing. The police, moreover, would ha.ye- laughed at me. What would it matter ?— I mean they might have poo-h-poohed the .whole matter. The police might ha.vc Pooh-poohed the whole matter; but you would have discharged your duty. Mr Singer : I still think I did my ■ 'fluty. His Honor : Then we differ. Mr Singer : Yes, wo do. I . coneider I did my duty. ' The matter ended . here for tha day,, but the next day the following letter from Lawyer Singer appeared m fthe evening paper : — POLICE METHODS. Mr Singer's Reply to Judge Edwards. (To the Editor.) Sir,— l observe that < Mr Justice Edwards has made certain remarks .Which seem to me to be at the same time an attempt to set forth his opinion of the local police and their lofficial conduct, and also, to destroy any influence: :my deliberately expressed views, ba^ed upon long and lntto^be experience,, may have,

Mr Justdce -Edwards is also reported to have stated that h© wrotedown verbatim his questions to me and my answers., This is not cor- ( rect. He wrote down some word-, which I did not use, and ab&okilel.. decline to accept. It must be remembered, m t c first place, that my remarks wen 1 elicited entirely by the Judge's c;amination. He (insisted, up on getting my views and experience, and the natural result was that they wer c published. As to the correctness of those views, there is no doubt that I am supported unanimously and entirely by those whose/ experience m these matters is genuine. A judge of the Supreme Court Bench, is, as is also any judicial personage, the least reliable authority on such matters, for he has the least, m fact, no opportunity of viewing the facts from the -proper plane. He ia m the position of an inspector visiting a country school, who, the noise of hisv coming having been heard 'by the-" [teachers, the school committee, thescholars;, and the parents, finds nothing but clean hands, , clean collars, clean boots, clean floors, and the birch-rod neatly reposing m the corner: ' My statements, as, I .remarked on Wednesday, are 'true of police onethods practically all the world over/, I did not suggest that the A.uck-'-' land police employed methods newer original, not employed by .the.," force, say, m England,- Canada,-. ■Australia or South Africa. I do know • that King's evidence is a,, very objectionable and a very dangerous state of evidence, abhorred by -all ordinary citizens. I also know that whereas the Judge is, m this one' particular matter, undoubtedly • correct, namely 'that the police of Auckland . as a' body are both honest ■and respectable, . the attitude of some of the responsible persons m the force towards both public knowledge arid public criticism of their methods —two 'most important and ;necessary. stimuli far) 1 a public department — is-i •one of combined hatred and fear. ■A little more reasonable and re-, ireshing light upon questions so in>concerning the public and its welfare, and m regard to which -trie public . is so strangely and, m my opinion, so wrongly kept m ignorance', would assuredly be a wholesome thing' for the community even if it he thrown -as accidentally as m the case of my evidence of Wednesday, given ,m the Supreme Court m answer to the questions , of a Judge who, L believe, had no intention of eliciting my opinions' on such questions at all-— I am, etc, RICHARD A. SINGER. . When the prisoner, who had been found guilty of receiving stolen goods, : was brought up for- sentence, :his Honor referred to the matter -again, .mentioning that he had been .misunder stood and misrepresented m the morning paper. Mr Singer had made various CHARGES OF A SERIOUS NTATIXKB, (but more, or less; vague j against, the police. -"I never I allow : such charges to be made without endeavoring, to probe them to tho bottom," his Honor continued. "Accordingly I asked Mr Singer a number of questions which, ■; with Mr , Singer.' s answers, . I wrote down m my jwtebook. My examination ,of Mr Singer ended thus: Question : 'You will have . to be, more definite. If you -mean that the police use what is practically King's evidence, • without any concealment of the fact that it is King's evidence, they do .so, of course ?'— Answer : 'Largely, I meiiu "that." Question : 'It is quite plain that you ought to have told the police.' , Answer '■ 'I did not think so for the reasons given.' ''I never" at any time remarked that if the facts were actually ..as stated by the witness, the administration of justice was m a serious condition, or anything to that effect. "I did not at the time attach, nor do I now attach, credit to the imputations made against the police. |.'I feel bound to state this publicly, not only m justice !to the police hut because any imputations made against them which, m my opinion, are without foundation, tend to SAP CONFIDENCE IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. "If it is • made to appear that a. Judge of this Court accepts statements so made as casting doubt upon the administration of justice, such statements' appear to the public to have an importance which Is not due to them. "I have seen nothing m the conduct of the polico since my presidency m this Court of Auckland to lead nic to doubt that the police of, this district arc honest, reputable men, discharging their duties m an honest and reputable manner to the best of their ability . ' ' His Honor went on to deal with the prisoner, who still protested his innocence, saying that he would give,- as ho always had, full consideration to ' the jury's recommendo,tion to mercy. A sentence of six months' imprisonment was imposed.