THE Thames Star. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 1926. THE POLICE FORCE.

Thames Star, Volume LX, Issue 16855, 4 August 1926, Page 4

THE Thames Star.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 1926. THE POLICE FORCE.

“With malice towards none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right.”—Lincoln.

Probably one of the most amazing things in this country of ours is the fact that about one and a half million people are 'kept in order by one constable to every 1344 people, and at the expense of 5/9£ per head of population. This is not riotous expenditure, and no one can accuse the Government of squandering the national wealth on the Police Force. Comparisons are odious, but let us, for one moment, think of the ease of the United States of America. There, the centres of population regard themselves as under-policed if they have not six times the proportion of officers that New Zealand needs. We no doubt inherit our law-abiding tendency from the great Motherland, where, according to visitors, it is a treat to see the way that citizens obey the orders of the policeman on his heat. Still, the Commissioner of Police states there is an increase of serious crime, and he proposes to increase his force by an extra fifty constables. He stresses this as necessary, as there is an increasing tendency of Government departments to make use of police services. He refers, no doubt, to traffic duty in the cities, but in the case of Auckland and Wellington, this will cease at the end of this month. Perusal of the Commissioner’s report shows that he is infected with the business germ, and is determined to place the force on a sound footing, and to show a profit. It is noted that sly-grog sellers of the Dominion contributed over £IOOO last year towards such a consummation.