Inquiry Into Police Force Wastage

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31005, 10 March 1966, Page 18

Inquiry Into Police Force Wastage

The New Zealand Police Department is conducting an inquiry into the reasons for the number of resignations, retirements and dismissals from the police. Officers and senior-sergeants have been instructed to give written views on the reasons for the wastage.

The rate of wastage is such that it is estimated that the police will have a loss in actual strength as at March 31, compared with the strength a year ago, in spite of an intake of 200 police recruits during the year.

Questioned last evening on the departmental inquiry, the general-secretary of the New Zealand Police Association (Mr J. Meltzer) said he would not comment on the estimate that there would be fewer members of the police at the end of this month than at March 31, last year. “However, it is generally known that there is an administration investigation into the wastage in the police. The association has been approached to give its views on the principal reasons for members leaving the force. “Disturbing Rate” To further questions, Mr Meltzer said he could not recall a previous occasion on which an administration inquiry, on the present basis, had been held into reasons why members were leaving the police. “It is understood to be a disturbing rate of wastage—meaning resignations, deaths, retirements and dismissals. I cannot speak for the department, but I publicly stated

some months ago that the rate of wastage was a matter of concern.

“When all the opinions sought by the department are correlated, it could have some considerable bearing on the representations to be made to the Police Tribunal for an improved salary scale for the police. Possible Remedy “It is obvious that no police service can afford to incur expense in training recruits and finish at the end -'f the financial year with lower strength than at the beginning of the year,” Mr Melzer said.

Naturally, one possible remedy could be to improve the salary scale, but it could be intimated that there were other causes for resignations which he was not prepared to discuss publicly. Mr Melzter made it clear that, irrespective of the difficulties in maintaining the full authorised strength of the New Zealand Police, he had the greatest admiration for

the efforts being made by the present Commissioner of Police (Mr C. L. Spencer) to ensure that the standard of those who constituted the force was not lowered. He approved the commissioner’s efforts to maintain the highest possible level of character and integrity of those who made up the police service at present.