XXI

H.—2

various breaches of the regulations, and it is to be regretted that they have been allowed to remain in the Force. Their presence must have furnished a bad example to others, as their records appear to be known by all the men. These offences have not been of recent date, and as the men have been dealt with aud punished, and appear to be now behaving properly, we do not think we should mention their names, no charge having been brought against them before us; but we consider their continuance in the Force should be only permitted while their conduct is irreproachable. Any future transgression, however slight, should at onoe be taken advantage of to get rid of them. A past such as theirs requires a long course of good conduct to expiate it. Should the Commissioner consider that in the interests of discipline such men's services should be dispensed with, even without any fresh lapse on their part, he should have a perfectly free hand in dealing with them. Sobriety. The offence mostly dwelt upon by those who brought charges against the Force was drunkenness. This is properly considered a serious police offence. Regulation 62 says inter alia, " Drunkenness on duty will invariably be punished by dismissal or enforced resignation, according to previous character. Simple drunkenness will not be overlooked even on a first occasion. Under extenuating circumstances recommended by the Inspector, this offence may on a first occasion be visited with a lesser punishment, but should the offence be repeated the member of the Force will be dismissed." This regulation has in a great number of cases been enforced, as will be shown by the return in the Appendix, but in other cases there appears to have been an excess of indulgence in dealing with this offence. Men have been dismissed on account of drunkenness, and have been reinstated owing to pressure being brought to bear on the Minister in charge of the department. The having a large family to provide for, the general unfitness of the man for any other occupation , his previous good conduct, and his steadiness since his dismissal have been the reasons urged by those seeking his reinstatement. We are reluctant to condemn the exercise of mercy, but it is dangerous to discipline to indulge in it. A man when dismissed from the Force should understand that he is not to snter it again : dismissal should be final. Morality. No direct complaint of immorality or misconduct in connection with immorality .was made to us. The cases in which a constable has been adjudged the putative father of an illegitimate child are very few. In view of the fact that the Force is largely composed of young vigorous unmarried men, a considerable number of whom have passed into the Police from the Military Force, we are surprised more cases of this kind have not come to our knowledge, as they probably exist. At present there is no police regulation directly relating to immoral conduct, and one should be framed making adjudication of paternity of illegitimate children or other immoral conduct ground for dismissal. Efficiency. We propose now to deal with the question of the efficiency of the Police Force in respect to the enforcement of the laws relating to the sale of liquors, gambling, prostitution, and neglected children, as to which complaint is made; and in doing so shall deal with the subject in its general aspect, without referring, except where it may appear necessary, to individual cases which have been brought under our notice : such cases will be dealt "with separately. ■ In treating of this part of our report, it appears to us that, while pointing out certain matters which, m our opinion, have tended and do tend to affect injuriously the power of the police to enforce the laws of the colony, it comes within the scope of our Commission to offer suggestions for such amendments of the laws as may enable the police more effectually to enforce them. We hope, therefore, in so doing we shall not be considered to be going outside our duty. •