EXCEPTION TAKEN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26541, 16 August 1947, Page 8

EXCEPTION TAKEN

POLICE BILL CLAUSE IDENTIFICATION PARTICULARS AUTHORITY TO USE FORCE Parliamentary Reporter WELLINGTON, Aug. 15. Exception to the clause in the Police Force Bill which authorised the police to take from a person in lawful custody all particulars deemed necessary for identification, including a photograph and fingerprints, and to use such reasonable force as might be necessary to secure them, was taken by Mr F. Langstone (Govt., Roskill) during the committee stage on the Bill in the House of Representatives to-day. Mr Langstone said he thought this provision would be repugnant to many people, particularly those who might be innocent. He thought the proviso “ with the consent of that person ” should be inserted, :so that an objection could be made if desired. They had always proclaimed the British system of presuming a person's innocence until proved guilty, he said. It was a different matter when a person had been tried and convicted. Individual Freedom Imperilled It would be destructive of people’s finer feelings if they were forcibly-finger-printed before conviction, said Mr Langstone. Every man liked to assert his individuality and independence even under arrest. Under this clause, the mother of a family could be finger-printed on arrest. It was not in keeping with their declarations of 'freedom of the individual. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr Parry: Suppose it was made a general rule? Mr Langstone: I still think it would be repugnant. It would be going too far to finger-print everyone. jMr Oram (Oppn., Manawatu) said he could she no objection to what was proposed. If the person arrested was using an assumed name, identification could be established by fingerprints in a few minutes. It was no more an infringement of liberty than taking a statement. The clause provided for the destroying of particulars if the person was not convicted, but he thought they should be retained. The more prints there were in the Criminal Registration Branch records the greater the facilities for tracking down offenders. Mr Parry: Then why not make it general? / Mr Oram: Yes. I believe that many crimes unsolved would be solved if th6re were complete records. Mr W. J. Broadfoot (Oppn., Waitomo): Why not have our photographs in the rogues’ gallery? Mr J. J. Maher (Oppn., Otaki): Why not a brand or earmark? Destruction of Evidence Mr Oram continued that if the proposal in the clause to destroy fingerprints and photographs of persons not convicted was carried to its logical conclusion, then all notes of. evidence and statements to the police, -records of charges and so on connected with court cases would also be destroyed. The Minister-in-charge of thd police Department, Mr Fraser, said that all the clause empowered was that fingerprints would be taken at the police station instead of at prison. If a person were remanded in custody he was taken to the nearest prison. Time would be saved by the new power in so far as finger-printing and photographing were concerned and the police would not have to get people from .the prison. Exceptions were when persons were bailed out at once, in which case prints might not be taken till a later date or not at all. He did not know if any people escaped conviction as a result but" the police did feel they were now handicapped. Conduct of Inquiries

Replying to ■Mr G. H. O. Wilson (Govt., Palmerston North), who contended that a senior officer should not conduct any inquiry respective of--ser-geants or Constables in which he was himself concerned, Mr Fraser said that in certain circumstances the danger might be a real one but it would have to be left to the common sense of those responsible for administration. Senior officers could not be kept engaged travelling to districts outside their own to attend to trivial complaints, for instance mnior breaches of beat duty. On the other hand, in a serious case, a senior officer might have unwittingly imbibed prejudice as a result of a preliminary investigation and should not conduct the inquiry. He was, however, assumed that this was not done and he would take a serious view if it was.

Progress with the Bill was interrupted by the adjournment for the week-end.