THE POLICE FORCE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 563, 19 July 1909, Page 4

THE POLICE FORCE.

\ , ; BORE DRAWN SWORDS. i * ' ' CASE OF THE COMMISSIONER'S SON. t AND DETECTIVES' PROMOTIONS., , ' ' (By'TcloeraDh— Press Association I DunDdin, July 17.. The Police- Commission resumed its sittings to-day. Sorgeant Willis, m evidence, said that married men objected to having to go between their homes and tho police station in fc uniform. They considered it degrading, as indicating that they could not bo trntted to benavo themselves going on and off duty in f s plain clothes. Tho men also_ considered that \ there should bo more'Sunday'leavo. Witness 1 thought that tho rate of policomcn's pa} i should bo raised, as tho present wto,was not sufficient to attract tho right class of men. Dmnie Ho had hoard that it was ' owing to 'married men going mtoHhe smglo men's rooms to hang up their clothes that the ' regulation as to married men wearing uniforms going to and from their homes had , been enforced i ' To Mr Bishop • There had been some very i poor men in the force, both as regards phjsiquo and ability, during tho last few . ' years There seemed to bo some difficult} in getting men. Ho had no knowledgo of pohti- \ cal influence havmg'becn exercised - ' Mr. Dmnio hero remarked that as there seemed to bo some misconception* about Jus f meaning'in respect to tho statement mado in i the House by Mr. Arnold, ho wished it clearly , understood that what ho meant was that tho i sf-atement wis not correct, and thero was proof to tho contrary. Ho wished it understood that ho (Mr. Dinmc) was there to an- ; swor definite .ohaigcs Ho did not suggest that Mr. Arnold mado the statements know mg ' that they were incorrect

Mr. Arnold Crows " Definite." Mr. Arnold replied that he was pleased to adcopt the Commissioner's apolog} Ho presumed that tho Commissioner would admit that the. charges ho made,with regard to tho , fighting in the streets of? Wellington were v definite; that the charge nyegard to tho man ordered off tho beat drunk was definite, that i the charge of tho man who came to tho colony with his wife's sister was deOiuto, that the I ono in regard to tho person who went away ' with another man's wnfe, and that the one in / ' regatd to tho 'const-able who assaulted his > sergeant in Glasgow wero all definite, also the'one in regard to tho notorious criminal ' who came from Australia and joined tho i ' force. Would tho Commissioner repeat his statement of yosterdav, and say that these >■ charges wero made without foundation or I" duo inquiry? ► iMr Dmmo What I say in this matter is j ttiat I have only two charges to answer so ' far as lam concerned The first charge 'is \ in, regard to the finger-print export, and tho second is in regard to "no" inquiry having ; been made in respect to those men who got ' into trouble ' "Mr .Arnold I would certainly not say that flo inquiry was made 1 llr, Bishop remarked that Mr Dinnie r had referred to a matter which he was glad j indeed to hear mentioned He had« now , taken, a. different attitude upon, it It was a v thing he (Mr 1 Bishop) objected, to at tho , tune, and, if it had not been brushed aside, ■> he probably have spoken iroro , strongly about it Mr Dmnie had referred to "a.,deliberate falsehoodv" They must as- ' sume that a member of Parliament, from\hiß i placo in. tho Houso, would not tell what ho knew to bo a deliberate falsehood Ho (Mr Bishop) had taken exception, tp thp <■ " words "deliberate falsehood" at the time, i and -now glad to hear-Mr -Dmme's l explanation of the matter, and to hear that , i ho had withdrawn anything in tho shane of imputing a "deliberate falsehood"

I ""STfiWClse constable. ■"■ ■" rsh- Arnold. If we are going to oonfino i. our solves, to two questions, I am, glad to ,dt> 1 so" With regard to thp constable who wag, . dismissed '•from the " tramways,, r how was' it th it' the police "could not 'dis- ' cover if satisfactory inquiry was made as to 1 tK reason of ;this man's dismissal befoio,ho 1 -was admitted to the Force? There wis no 'difficulty in thia matter t ' Air Dinnie. I am'not awaro that he Vas f i dismissed from the tramways ', Mr Bishop Is he in the service, still? » 'Mr. Dinnie' I believe so/ < , t, Mr Arnold. You admitted in my evidencei nt-chief that you had the photon, of the I notorious criminal who 'joined the force t t Mr Dinnie then read the papers about ' /• this man who applied for an appointment on March 19, 1908 At that time they were f particularly short of candidates Out of I seventeen candidates called up!" only stfve"n t ' accopted, and three of them did not turn J vp, so that their had only l tour! to start the ! batch, which was usually <-twelve or thnteen s Seven more were called from the list of I applicants, and thoy got six,, making a batch i of, ten, |and one of/the ten resigned It i v. was, therefore, necessary to select a few ■ candidates not placed on the list, and the i constable in quest on came with the best of ( recommendations from Australia ; He had - relatives at Petono, and Mr Wilford, M V , , i said that the fa'mtly <t\oro~iriost respectable , f man was taken on probation, and was' t told that' 1 1£ the inquiries made ns to'lns | antecedents'sivero not, satisfactory, ho would , be'discharged A_ letter was written,, to the New South Wales'polico aboutThim, arid the' F following-"month his photo whsj '• acciden ; tally noticed as, that of a New Sduth,Wales i I criminal He-had been, convicted of foiv ge/y in , Australia, and was at, once dis-' charged, , The result /df the inquiries from tile Now Sdutll Wales police did not come *■ 't« hand unfjili after the roan had been! >deh-' ' tided by ( the photograph t These, were tho I 'cirqumsta.nce3 tfncfcf which this , man wis^ taken on Ho "added The point, however, is that it is admitted that this man came t to New Zealand, and was admitted into tho folce Whether the photos in the possession of the Department are too numerous ' for one to bo picked out is not for mo to 1 judge ' The fact/ is ; that he was accidentally discovered' doing d,uty* on the heat whilst members of-the-forco w-oro looking at his photo ii ' 1 *In answw- <to ,Mr , Bishop, tho Commis-, sioner saju'th'at ho had asked for the information, and what he had read was what Whs ' supplied, and he verified it

Some Admissions by Mr. Dlnnio. „ , ,'llr. Bishop said that it was quite clear that, under the pressure of having to completo a batch, Commissioner Dinnie did not complete the inquiries beforo tho man was appointed. It was practically an admission 'oi everything that Mr Arnold had said , 'Another candidato was mentioned, and Commissioner Dinnie asked what Mr. suggested m that caso. ,1,4 , Mr. Arnold! \ That this man. should Dot' havo been'in'th'e fordo, and J that, when an assault was,being committed on constibles 'who were oil duty in Wellington, ho wasamongst the "croivd Wgmg>ofl tho civilians against his comrades. ; t Commissioner Dmnie replied ' that • it seemed that this constable did not, on the occasion of the street row, render the assistance to the other constables that ho should have rendered, and, 111 tho and as it appeared that ho was usoless as a constable, no had been called on to resign :,Mr. Bishop: That is sufficient without going into details. It is an admission of tho main allegation made by Mr. Arnold , 1 'Mr. Dinnie continued that ho was glad to gee by "Hansard" that Mr. Arnold had said thlat, from th'« standpoint of ability and character, the police force- of ,New Zealand was equal to that of any' of the Australian colonies. ' • ' I Mr. Arnold: I boli*v« it is. I -said also , that it is gradually degenerating,' and I wish ■tb prevent it. - 'Mr. Dmnie: Owing to these men getting into tho force ? , 1 Mr. Arnold: Yes; men of that class ( ' Mr. Dinnie called attention to tho percentage of arrests to offences reported to tho ' police. From tho vear 1901-2 to 1903-9 they ' wero respectively 93.86, 94.43, 95.53, 94 87,. 95.65, 95,86, and 95.63. That showed thatt tho force had displayed a high degree of efficiency. ' '*"''. Mr, Arnold: It shows,.that your have some capablo officers such as those sittinc round

this table to-day, and, in all probability, tho great majonty t of arrests are mado by theso mon Mr. Dinnio: It shows that thero are,, a good many Mr Bishop: Tho efficiency must bo judged by tho results The Finger-Print Expert. Mr. Arnold. With regard to leave of absonco'for your son, ho applied for leavo and tho communication was sent to tho Minister? , Mr. Djnnjo. His application was sent by mo with a runuto thereon You s,wear on oath that that application with tho minuto was not for sit months loavo of nbsonco on full pay?—"l am on mv oath Tho application submitted (pointing to tho papei handed in "to tho commission) is tho genuine ono, and thoro was no application submitted suggesting that ho should •havo full pa}. I will prove that b> Air Matthews (lion. Mr M'Gowan's sccrotarv) and by Mr M'Gowan himself." Do you know that thcTo is a nowspapor m Now Zealand called "Truth" s—"xes,5—"xes, I do I havo prosecuted thorn on many occasions " i , That does not say that thoy did not deserve it I should think they did, too Whon the leavo was granted, did not peopo m Wellington think it was si\ months leavo on full pa}, and did not "Truth" havo an articlo on if—"l know it ' Did 3ou say that, in consequence of tint article, that application was withdrawn — "Most certainly not When it appeared, I went to take advice tb sec whether 1 I could take action against '' Truth,' or not ' 1 took tho paper to get Mr Myers s opinion, and I spoke to my Minister on the matter He did not seem to "-encourage a prosecution, and I let tho matter drop Do jou think it was wise to lot it dropi' —"Well, considering the important position I hold, I .think it was" . Did you know of tho belief in tho force that von were doing thin for jour son, and reducing another man by seven davs leavo on full pay?-"I don't know that that feeling was in tho force -throughout Wellington. Thero aro in Wellington ono or two dissatisfied men My belief is that it was thiough theso men that this suggestion was mado to ' Truth' with tho object of hurting me It was done by no one else. There was no one else who could havo known, but it was well known in Wellington that tho leave was not on full pay It was only dono one or two with a view dotnmental to me" i , , Mr Arnold Of course, I said in my evidence that I,would bo, ven pleased to discover that Mr. Dinnio could clear the, matter up As I siid jesterdav, it was of no consequence so far is my general charges were concerned, but I think ho should know that tho whole of the force in Wellington did, and do still, bolicvo that originally the six months' leavo was granted on full pay

" VSfIU the Gentleman Withdraw the Assertion?" Mr. Bishop If Mr Dinnio now states .on oath that this is the Only and original application ever mado in'connection with this loavo, then wo must accept that for the timo being Mr Dinme, is this the original and only apolieation' "* ■>■ \. Mr Dinme"Ycs, that is so, and I nopo Mi Arnold will bo gentleman enough to withdraw the assertion Mr. Bishop This (application) ,of coursebears tho Minister's initials on it Mr Dmnie No dispute about that Mr Arnold. I don't wish to persecute tho Commissioner - Mr Dmnie ,1 think r you ought to withdraw. !*■'"' 5 f J Mr. Arnold. Withdraw what? Mr Dinnio Tho allegation that I did recommend him—that, he went on. leave with fuil pay. I think you should withdraw that statement It is onl} just to me that }ou should withdraw,-seeing what jou have seen, and the evidence jou havo got Mr Arnold If this had taken place jesteiday, jour Worship, I might have done so I can conscientiously say that I s am not too sUie about theso files Your Worship'knows Mr 'Bishop s ho had looked* carcfullj through the files, and if the allegations *ffa"dej*rn. '■cfan.ecfcion with .this matter wetQ true, $he- files would; show ( facie" cyidencß thflt/thei'MmisjterjvaJs, a party to tjio withdraw il of °tbo'original application, and the substitution of this Ho added Will

},ou. Mr Arhold, recognise- Mr , M'Gowan's initials on these 0 The Minister must havo been a party to it Mr Arnold However, that is the belief'of the forco at tho present moment, and I am very pleased that Mr.-Dinnie has cleared up tho m,atter » j •■iin v> * ' - '' . , Mi Dinnio But you have not yet said that you are satisfied ', , ,\j Mr Arnold I am not satisfied

Mr, Dmmo. I would like to hear jou say that you are satisfied. I'll bring furthei proof i Inspector: O'Brien, in reply to Mr Bishop, said that ho had no qnestions to ask of Mr D'nme, seeing thai t ha (Mr. Dinme) was not going his'evidence-in-chicf Mr Bishop I) don't intend to allow tho Commissioner to givo evidence except of a general character No evidence will be giyon by him affecting a particular locahtj or officers in a particulai locahtj i where he had tho opportunity of giving evidence Detectlve-M'Grath's Promotion. + Chiof jDot^tivo'Herbert asked if Mi Din„mo rbihomberod the'lace Minister for Justice, that chief detectives would not'be promoted to higher ranks without firsjtT reverting to a lower grade in uniform,— 1 — —

Mr Dinnio I believe I do I The-Chief Detective \ want to put the baddlcfon the'.nght horse if I can Wo be- I >hove "that .the Commissioner a\ as opposed to Chief. Detective 'M'Grath's promotion to % subiinspeclor from' tho detective branch, and that, when Mr. M'Gowan mado the statement in the 'House, he did it with tho conourrencejfof, and by arrangement with, the Commissioner ■? "„ t Mr Bishop" 'You aro now treading on dangerous ground The Chiot Detective I am in jour Worship's hands I will ask Pnoi to the Ministers statement in tho Houso, did you recommend Chief,'Dctective M'Grath for promotion ? , i Mr Dinme I don't think I did. Had jou any intention prior to that- to recommend chief detectives ,for sub-inspec-torslujw ?—"Oh, jeS." ' Had joti recommended any?—" No." "Wore you in favbur/'brior to that statement made by Mr, M'Gowan, of the promotion of chief detectives to sub-inspector-ships?—"Gortamly." Station-Sergeant King then put questions to Commissioner Dinme, who answered in effect thus" He denied saying to King in tho\inspcctor's offioo that ho would not have to wait long foe promotion Ho did not tbinkvthat ho used tho words. "You settle down to jour work as station-sergeant It 'is the. stepping-stone to promotion, and jou aro nearly the senior on tho list." Ho might 1 have (Said that tho new position was the stepping-stono/ to promotion If tho inspector said'that ho {(the Commissioner) used the other words Tie would not deny it.

The/commission'fose,.: to Vsit; again>;6n-M6n-day ;i mpr£ingif/*:. 'j'ffixf&i 'h'-': ty ..■V-.i ■■'':