The Ashburaton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 1888. ANNUAL POLICE REPORT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1871, 19 June 1888, Page 2

The Ashburaton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 1888. ANNUAL POLICE REPORT.

The Commissioner of Police — W. E. Gudgeon — m his report on the New Zealand Police Force for the year ending 31st March, 1888, shows that though our population is increasing there is a diminution m the more serious classes of crime, The criminal statistics for the year ending the 31st December, 1887, show a very satisfactory diminution m offences such as murder, attempted- murder, arson, manslaughter, forgery, and horse and cattle stealing, and fewer cases of larceny hare occurred. The year has, however, been specially noticeable for a marked decrease m the offence of drunkenness, the number of cases being 842 less than m the previous year. Much the same may be said of wife-desertion, which, at one time, bade fair to become a common offence. The decrease m the criminal item, is attributable to the prompt measures taken for the arrest and enforced return of men who had fled to the adjoining colonies during the same ptriod. The actual decrease m crime throughout the colony has been 893 cases as compared with last year, viz., a decrease of 747 cases m the South Island, and an increase of 364- m the North. Island. So far tho balance is m favor of the former, but m this Island there has been an increase m many of the serious offences, while m the North they have decreased, notwithstanding that the minor offences have increased. On the 31st March there were 487 members m the force, as against 502 Ihe previous year, and 494- in 1886. The reductions do not seem to have had the effect of stimulating crime, but rather the contrary, as with fifteen fewer men there has been a decrease m the number of criminal cases. Eight stations were closed during tho year, and one hew district formed at the Bay of Islands where sly-grog-selling was known to be carried on and where smuggling was suspected to be rife. Since the Inspector took over the district fines amounting to £412 had up to the time of closing ihe report been inflicted upon sly grogsellers. The decrease m the number of cases of arson is yer-y satisfactory, but the Commissioner says the police have every reason to believe that numerous instances of this crime remain undetected and unpunished,, not from want of suspicion or vigilance, but from want of sufficient evidence to justify a criminal information. The only solution of the difficulty would appear to be condensed m the recommendation' of a London jury m a late case, viz , " That provision should be made by law for an official inquiry into the origin and circumstances of all fires. That such inquiry would tend to dimjnish the frequency of fires by making felony more easy of detection, and by bringing public censure, if hot punishment, on persons responsible for fires arising from carlessness or want of precaution. That tfte information and statistics which would result from search-ing-fire inquiries would expose faulty and inferior work, and thus lead to improvements m building construction. s '. The Commissioner feelg, and rightly too we think, that so long as house-owners are allowed to over-insure their buildings, so long will there be suspicious fires and the Police will be unable to prevent them. Certainly an examination into the cause of every fire would make it pretty well a dangerous proceeding to wilfully fire a building. It would jseem that our guardians of the public peace and tye representatives of. law and order are npf confined by their duties to those of mere policenjep. Among the many duties performed by the police outside of their own special functions as guardians of the peace the following may be enumerated : Agents of Public Trustee, Pallia's,. Clerks of Resident Magistrates' Courts and Licensing Committees, Collectors of Agricultural Statistics, compilers of jury-lists, Inspectors of Weights and Measures, Slaughterhouses, Distilleries, and Factories, Licensing Officers under Arms Act, Mining Registrars, Magazinekeepers, Officers under Beer Duty Act, Police Gaolers, Postmasters and Telephonists, Receivers of Gold B t 6 venue, Supervisors of the Estates of Jjnnaj&icg < and Intestates, and Truant Officers under. School Boards. It is complained that, m the cases M Iquqwlotb of Weights and Measures that these officers Have their whole time taken up with their j inspection duties, and therefore their services are lost to the police ; but this ! we know is uot altogether the case, and often they are abjie to 4o thejjr : regular duties as well as their special duties. j The regulations m force m Victoria have beou modified to gqjfj fliig colony

m regard to the attendance of policemen at race meetings, etc. It is now provided by general order that the manager of sports, races, etc., shall requisition for the number of police required, and guarantee payment of expenses of travelling, etc., of the members of the force employed. The expenses have been a charge on the Department hitherto. There is one matter m which we think the Commissioner should be supported and that is m his desire to make it possible for the police to prosecute m all crimimal cases. The Commissioner under this head cays : For some years the police have been under certain yexatioos restrictions m the matter of conducting prosecutions m Resident Magistrates' Courts. In 1876, m the case of Piper v McCluskey, on appeal against a conviction by a Resident Magistrate for illegally permitting the sale of liquor, it was decided by His Honor Judge Ward that " JN r o police officer is entitled to act as counsel or. solicitor, nor has he a right to conduct a case unless he he the actual informant." The result of this judgment has been that counsel for the defence have frequently objected to experienced Inspectors or Sergeants conducting cases, on the ground that they were not the informants. As it generally happens that the constable who lays the information has had comparatively little experience, the objection thus taken has generally damaged the prosecution and ten Jed to bring about a miscarriage of justice. I would therefore urge that the police be empowered by statute to prosecute m all criminal cases, as is already the case under the Police Offences Act, section 46. To allow the experienced officers to conduct cases is what might be considered very fair. As to the cost of the police service, calculated on the basis of population, we find that m New Zealand there is one member to 1328 inhabitants, at a cost per annum of 3s l|d to each ' individual. In Victoria there is a policeman to every 770 inhabitants, cost 4s 7-^d. In New South Wales and South Australia the cost is 5s 8d per head for the support of the police, and there is one to 672 and 769 inhabitants respectively. Queensland has the most expensive force, there being a policeman to every 367 inhabitants, at an annual cost per head of 8s sd, On the whole the report shows New Zealand m a very favourable light m respect to her criminal statistics, and as the pa?t few years have shewn a tendency to mark a decrease m crime, it is quite possible that with the advent of another year there may still be a greater decrease.