THE POLICE FORCE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1763, 30 May 1913, Page 4

THE POLICE FORCE.

The alleged discontent in the policc force, concerning which there has been a good deal of mischievous exaggeration in certain circles, appears to have been very fully probed by the Commissioner of Police (Mn. Cum.ej.') and by the Minister for Justicc (the Hon. A. L. Heiidjian). As wo anticipated, the "grievances," when examined, dwindled _ very materially, and when they-are viewed in the light of the conditions provailing here and elsewhere, it liecomes plain that the force as a whole is receiving reasonable and just treatment" at the hands of the State, The very clear and dispassionate recital of the facts of the position by the Minister for Justice, which we publish this morning, should make it plain that, s,ive in respect of one or two minor matters, upon which there may be room for argument, the police, forcc has no just ground of complaint. Outside the ranks of the constables there does not appear to have been any suggestion of grievance, while the requests of those constables who rcsDotidcc! to tho iuvita-

tion to make known their desires are fully and convincingly dealt with liy the Minister. The most important of tho requests made was, of course, the claim for increased pay. Mit. Herdman has shown that the New Zealand police force is at present as well paid as .practically any simitar police force in the world, with the exception of Western Australia, and that with certain concessions _ which he proposes to make, and which he had decided on some months ago, it will be second to none. It is not necessary to recapitulate here tho facts relating to the conditions governing the scale of pay, privileges, and pensions of the police force in New Zealand as compared with those in. operation in other places. The particulars are so plainly set forth by the Minister that they require no elucidation. The only matters on which there is really any room for argument appear to be Sunday leave and time off for time spent when attending Court cases. Both these matters are of a nature likely to cause irritation unless care is taken to see that the men receivo reasonable consideration. It is, no doubt, a difficult matter to lay down and carry out any hard and fast rules on tho subject, but it is desirable that constables should be made to feel that wherever practicable they will be met in a liberal spirit in such matters. Mr. Hekdman states that the custom now is to allow the time off as far as possible, but it would be a good thing perhaps if the Commissioner made it his business to sec that the officers in charge of stations exercised proper caro and discretion in carrying out this custom. It may, of course, 'be argued that as the men are paid for working seven days a week, it is unreasonable of them to cxpeqt special consideration in the way of Sunday leave, particularly in view of the further fact that tliej are granted annual leave on full pay. But, so far as it is possible, Sunday leave should be granted. An attempt has been made to create the impression that the police constables arc worse off than the average labourer in the matter of remuneration for their services. This argument, which can only be based on ignorance of the conditions prevailing, probably has no real bearing on the subject, but sincc it has bcen_ raised it is worth while reproducing Mr. Hf.RDman's summing up of the situation, especially in view of the fact that it serves to show very well the actual position of a constable from the time lie enters the force: —

Of the total number of constables in tho force, tho Minister states, about onethird are married men, provided with free gunrters, one-third are married men drawing house allowance, and one-third are single men living in barracks. An effort lias been made to compare tho position of the working man with the newlyHedged, inexperienced policeman, to tho disadvantage of the latter. The cases aro not similar. The constable begins his career at what is equal to 9s. Gd. per day, ami advances by , increments to What is equal to 12s. per day for seven days in tho week. The working man does not. The new constable has to learn his business. The labourer is generally .an experienced worker. Tho constable receives pay for every clay in the year. The worker does not. Tho constablo gets a holiday of 15 (lays in the year on lull pay, and ho can allow his leave to accumulate. _ Tho working man enjoys no such privilege. The constable, if he proves to |>e capable, can, after a few years, tako charge of n. country station. This means a comfortable house free, a garden, and pecuniary perquisites of value, lhe lncomo of some constables in- cowitry stations, including, of course, their lay, is better than a salary of „S2so_ per annum. No such, opportunities aro afforded to the working num. Tho policeman oan, m time, become a non-commissioned or commissioned officer, receiving a comfortable income. Very few workers enjoy such opportunities of advancement ill 1"C. Finally, at tho end of his career, tho constable can vrtiro upon a reasonable l>e»(4on. This the working .man cannot do. The eas-o of the working man and the case of a policeman cannot bo compared. Tho Government could, of course, if .it had no proper sense. of tho trust reposed in it as the guardian of tho public .purse,, grant all the requests made of it by the policc forco,_ and by every other set of public officials under its control, and could thereby probably win for itself a greater popularity with the Public Service. But Ministers have no more right to bribe public servants with the public's money than they have to misappropriate it to their own individual use. It is their duty to see that the members of the police lorcc, and the members of all Departments of the State, are adequately paid and reasonably treated, and beyond that they have no right to go. If the conditions of the service do not suit individuals, then they have their remedy, and the service will in most cases be the better for their departure. So far as the police force is concerned, there may be some constables whose ambitions soar beyond the emoluments and privileges the service offers them. If there are any such, the door is open to them to retire if they wish to do so.