INSPECTOR ON CRIME.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1638, 3 January 1913, Page 9

INSPECTOR ON CRIME.

THE "COME & GO" PERSON. ICY ATTITUDE TO POLICE. (By Telegraph.—Spooial Correspondent.) * ; Auckland. January 1. ■■So far as the resident Now Zealanders are_ concerned there is not-miich need, for police, remarked Inspector Mitchell, Chief of the Auckland Police District, when discussing tho past police year with a "Star" reporter this morning. Mr. Mitchelj proceeded to state that it had been his experience that orimo, in New Zealand, was,' in tho main, traoeablo to tho floating population, and it was his conviction that the . criminal statistics wero larger in Auckland than in soutliern centres in proportion to, and because of, tho larger percentage of the "hat and hand-bag typo of resident" found here—men who, rested a while in the city before moving or being moved to find other 6«>pe for the exercise of their special talents. Theso people, whoso hats covered their sole responsibility and stake in the country, were constantly passing through the city, and they kept the police , staff pretty well occupied with the result, that many of, thom had to find time to leave their photos. and finger-prints behind them in souvenir of detected misdemeanours.

"In fact," Mr. Mitchell continued, "we could do well , enough if wo were given authority to enrol another hundred men in tho fores of the district." v. .

One little characteristic of resident New Zealanders was: mentioned by the inspector as not appealing to him. This was the reluctance shown by them, in giving the policeman a hand, both on the street at moments of physical stress, and in the privacy ofi tho office when information •was sought in the interest of law and order ■ •. : • , '

Tho inspector added' point to his criticism by mentioning that the New Zealand citizen paid less for his police protection than any ,of his neighbours, tho price being 3s. ;sd. per ,inhabitant, as against 4s. 4d. in Tasmania—the lowest cost in the Commonwealth—and Bs, 6d. in, 'Western Australia, which was the most expensively policed of the Australian States. So there was no room for the "stand-off citizen" to justify his passivity on tho ground that tho policeman was "well paid, for.tho job, anyway."