Police Reforms in N.Z.

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1013, 2 July 1930, Page 10

Police Reforms in N.Z.

WORK OF COMMISSIONERS

THE two commissioners who have brought about most reforms in the New Zealand Police Force are j Commissioner VV. B. Me I I veney, | whose resignation has just been , accepted, and Colonel J. B. Tunbridge, who also tendered his resignation to Cabinet after being brought out from England at a salary of about £7OO a year. During the past 35 years there have been eight commissioners of police in *Xew Zealand, including Air. Mellveney. At one time it was the practice of tlie Government, to bring senior men out from England, but this ceased in 1912. In 1895 Colonel J. Hume, who had been Governor of Dartmoor Prison at one time, was brought out to take charge of the New Zealand police, who were then in the stage of changing from a military force to a civil one. His regime was hardly successful. Things reached such a state of laxity and carelessness that a commission was set up and Colonel Hume tendered his resignation. Colonel J B. Tunbridge followed Colonel Hume and proved to be an excellent commissioner. He was chief inspector of the detective branch at Scotland Yard and immediately set about re-organising the New Zealand Police Force, which was soon on a better footing than ever before. In 1899 Colonel Tunbridge instituted the Police Provident Fund, the first of its kind in the Dominion and really tlie beginning of the civil servants’ superannuation fund. Before tl%at, on retiring members of the force received one month's salary for each year of service, but the total sum was not to exceed one year’s pay. However, Colonel Tunbridge’s fund provided for a definite pension on retiring. In 1913 when Sir Joseph Ward was Prime Minister, the police fund, then in a very healthy financial state, was merged in with the superannuation fund. NO POLITICAL INTERFERENCE Under the Tunbridge regime the New Zealand police force reached a very high standard of efficiency. He would not tolerate political interference, however, and the break came when Cabinet wished to exercise its aut hoi ity over some decisions mad by Colonel Tunbridge. He immediately resigned liis. office as commissioner and returned to England, where lie became Mayor of the town of Tunbridge. The last of the English commit sinners was Mr. Walter Dinnie. who followed Colonel Tunbridge. He was also a Scotland Yard man and main tained tlie good state of the force. 7 lie first New Zealand commissioner was Mr. Waldegrave, an Under-Secre-tary of the Department of Justice. Six months after his appointment he was r < Keved by Mr. John Cullen, also a New Zealander, who had risen from the ranks of the force. Mr. Cullen set about further reorganisation of the iorce and was the first commissioner to appoint police superintendents of the then fourcliicf districts—Auckland, Wellington Canterbury and Otago. Before that the districts were controlled by inspectors, but the increasing population demanded more senior officers for the administrative duties. Next followed Mr. John O’Donovan,

Changes by Mr. Mellveney

I who hud also risen from tbe rank-. Under him, the provincial districts were subdivided, as they were Decoming too cumbersome to handle. Invercargill, Napier, Wanganui, Palni- | erston North, New Plj-mouth were 10 I become separate districts in the fol- | lowing years. They were in charge of inspectors. Next came Whangarei. Hamilton. Gisborne, Timaru and Greymouth, though not in that order, with inspectors in charge. There stiil remained only four provincial superintendents. Air. O’Donovan was followed on his retirement by Mr. A. H. Wright. Mr. W. B. Mellveney succeeded Mr. Wright and immediately instituted many changes in the administration of the force. He also made Nelson a separate police distfict with an inspector in | charge. EIGHT-HOUR DAY Before Mr. Mcllveney’s appointment ito the position of Commissioner I the police worked four hours on and four hours off in the daytime, and eight-hour shifts at night. He altered this to allow' them to work their eight hours a day. thus bringing the police into line with workels in other Government Departments. Mr. Mellveney also instituted several changes in police uniforms and revived the old shako for day wear. He also organised the co-ordinated districts in the four principal centres. By this innovation the work of the* senior officers was more evenly distributed —the superintendent took over control of the country districts and the finance, one inspector took charge of the city area and the detectives, and tlie other the metropolitan or suburban districts. In the early days of the New Zealand Police Force the men had to find their own uniforms. These consisted of white duck trousers, blue jumpers, white helmets and white, gloves in the daytime, and blue uni-j form at night. Now the men joining tlie force are provided with a complete 1 outfit when they join up. and are sup- i plied with the material when they want new' uniforms made.