POLICE PAY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2009, 17 March 1914, Page 6

POLICE PAY.

RISE OF A SHILLING A DAY.

A CAREER IN HE FORCE. STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER. The Hon. A. L. Herdman, Minister of. Justice, supplied a Dominion reporter yesterday with the new seal© of pay to be received by members -of all ranks of tho Police Force after April 1 next. Mr. Herdman made a- statement also setting out the inducements which a career in the Police. Farce Mow offers to young men. "It has been feundi" said Mr. Herdman, ''that the high rates of pay which can bo earned in. outside occupations make it difficult to obtain the services of first-class men for the Police Force. The Force now is ft good oho ; hut it can still be improved. The new conditions of employment- should tempt good men-'to; join; and it, is with the hope, that; young New Zealanders who' are riot afraid of, ; steady hard:work, and who are prepared to submit- themselves to strict discipline, will offer 'their services that the scale of pay has bean improved. The State is prepared to give good pay for good service. "It may not be out of place to point out some of the benefits which can be gained by well conducted aad intelligent men w ; ho join tho Force:— "Every office in the Department- is open to the man who joins the Service as a constable. A mart joining the New Zealand Police Force may climb from tho lowest to tho highest- ? riing of tho, ladder. "A pension is provided for all ais they reach the retiring ago or become incapacitated for future service through ill-health or injuries received in ' the discharge of their duties. "In addition'to the pay prescribed, married sergeants receive 2s. per day, and all married men below' the rank of sergeant receive Is. 6d. per day houso allowance. Unmarried members of the Force" are provided with free quarters, light, and fuel. "Messes are established in tho large centres where the- unmarried men liavetheir food at a cost of from 12s. to 16s. per week. , "All members of the Fore© in tho cities and their suburban stations are provided with medical attendance and medicine free of charge, and, if any man, no matter whjfw stationed, receives injuries while im duty which require medical treatment, his medical expenses are defrayed by the Department. "Constables on appointment to the Force are usually kept in the la-rgd centres during the _first two -of three years of their service, so as to accuse "torn them to a state of discipline and to teach them practical police duty, after which, they are transferred to the smaller towns, where their duties bocome much more varied and lighter than in the large centres. After five or' seven years' service, if a, man is married and has proved himself trust* worthy and capable, -lie is given charge of-'a, station and provided with s good six or seven-roomed house ' free of charge. If the station is a country one, there is usually » good vegetable garden and a paddock attached, of which the constable has the free use.

"Many of the Constables in charge of stations aro_ Clerks of Magistrates' Courts, for wbicli tltey receivo a small salary from the Justice Department, as well as an annual allowance for keeping tlio Courthouse clean. _ All the country constables perform, bailiff duties,, for which services they reeeiyo considerable sums by way of mileage fee's for serving civil summonses, etc. "Certain members of the Force who are Clerks of Court also hold appointments as Clerks of Licensing Committees, for which tltey receive- from £15 to £25 per annum. "All country constables also hold the appointment of Inspector of Factories, for which they receive remunerationfrom the Labour Department, "The emoluments attached to many country stations are worth from £60 to £150 per annum over and above tlio constable's polico pay. There are several cases on record where constables in charge of good stations have refused promotion to tho rank of sergeant, preferring to remain where they wore rather than be transferred to a town as a sergeant. "An annual allowance is granted for the upkeep of a horse where the Department does not provide a troop! horse. "Members of the Force are provided! with' tho following articles of uniform free of chargeI:—Cloth1:—Cloth overcoat for night duty, waterproof overcoat, blue helmet, white helmet, blue tweed for making uniform frock and trousers., Bedford-cord for pantaioonj for mounted men, and leggings. They also receive £5 per annum to pay for making'up their' uniform trousers and frocks and to provide boots. "What I have said should eonvinee tho_ most sceptical that tho lot of the jwliceman in-New Zealand is a- com'fortablo one." Following is a schedule of- the old and tho new rates of pay. It sheuM bv. remembered in calculating the Weekly wages, in those ranks where the rate is at per day that ,t police officer is paid for seven days' in every week:--

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