Shorter Week Makes Gaps In Police Ranks

Chronicle (Levin), 16 February 1948, Page 8

Shorter Week Makes Gaps In Police Ranks

WELLINGTON, Feb. 14. Th.§ five-day 40-hoSiT .we'eli obsefved ;by other workers in the: eomifittni'ty was Uaving a tendency to- di'hw inen out of t'lie poli'ce fore'e, said the Com niissioner of Police (Mf.'X Cuthfaiifgs) 'today;. • Pay aid eoiiditiofls in the fox'ee Were. now quite satisfactory, h'e hdded1, but many of t'lios'e" v?Ko had' left th'e' ,fofee : preferred to have . th'eir-' weelc-ends to • theittselves.- • v . • The Coifihiis^idhef f^i/.eoniihenting on a 'cabled" rep'o/t 'fxohf Ldndon, published yest'ei'day, Whieh gtafed' thht the Lpnd'Oii Poliee Fol-ce* ' waS well bel'ow strength and iha'ny- niofe. fecrttits wefe urgentiy. needed. It was reported' that the poHee' there were gettirtgr a " raw deal" and tliat limld'reds of '-rii^n were leavintg the -servie'e vOltinthfily. In New Zealand, the 40-hoiir weea operatmg outside the foree was drawing nien fi'om t'lie service, said the Gommissionfer.' They 'were goiilg to positions where they linished' a't 4.30" p.m. on a Friday and had the week-erCd to themselves; notwithstsinding' the facl that in many casee the phy they were~ receiving in the new job Was less than wliat they were paid iri the fdi'ee. il'en. who" ret-eived tlreir t'rainiflg at the poiii-e ti'ainLhg efenfre "had left the force for mducements from:" outside. Commentihg on the. reported statement of the Lofd Charicellor (Lord Jowett) • th'af m'ost of the rfecfuits left the 'Londo'ri pelice becaui'e of the" very great hotising difficulty, Mr. Giimmings said tliat' housing was albo a' pfoblem for the poli'ce' 'in'New Zealand. Owing to the lioiising- diffieulties there were Aot sufficient honses available fdr alloeation. "There are still a num'ber of married men who are living in the poiiee b&rracks and are unable to be With their families, " he said. "They are awa'it ing the alloc-ation of houses to them. " However, the police had been fairly treated by the housing authoritxes and more houses were being allocated to the force. ' The police force here woul'd like mdre recruits. "We are getting a reasonable flovv ,of men, but we coxild do with still more," he said. The traihing was procecding smootiily at the police training, scliool and as -soon as one batch of riien passed out, another group was x;eady to take their -plaee. There were sufficient recruits to keep the scliool going, but more were needed. Tlie Goxtimissioner added that the foree would always take .suitable men of the right c-alibre providing they were more than 20 years of ag'e and- were- at least 5 feet 9 jnches in height.