HOW TO JOIN THE POLICE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 175, 11 August 1937, Page 6

HOW TO JOIN THE POLICE

* Good Physique Unblemished Character pr0bati0nary period How can a young man from Hastings become a policeman? Thi3 question arisen following the announcement that several men from this distriet have gone into training for the Police Force. Although he is a long way froai the nearest depot, it is just as easy for a young man from this part of the country to gain entrance to the Police Foree as it is for a man in oue of tbe centres — that is, provided he can measure up to tfie necessary qualifications. Questioned by a Herald-Tribune reporter to-day about wfiether distance was any bar, police officials made it quite clear that sucfi was not the case. From time to time inquiries are received from young men wishing to join the force, but quite a number fail to enter because of insufficient ehest measurement. A young man wishing to join has first to visit the officer in charge oi the pQlice diatrict in which he resides^ ln the case of Hastings he would have to visit Inspector Fitzpatrick, of Napier. It is a waste of time his making that visit unless he is of a- minimum height of five feet nine inches in his socks and has a normal chest meafcurement of 38 inches. It is essential, too, that he should be of unblemished character. He must not be under 21 years of age, and it is little use any man older than 28 applyingi. If the applicant passes the first inspectiou when he visits the police officer, he is referred to a doctor, usually the police surgeon. If he passes the medical examination he returns tq the police gtafiion, where an ap>#ication forrn is filled in. The educationai qualifications d»mand sixth-standard proticiency. .although at one time. it was necessary for the applicant to have reached only the fifth standard, and that position held for many years. The applicant has also to furnish particulars of every place at which he Has worked or stayed since leavin^ school, and inquiries are made concerning his character. At least two references also are required. Once the files are completed at the distriet office they are torwarded to the Commissioner of Police. Later, if tfie applicant is chosen by the commissioner as a candidate, ho has to undergo another medical examination. 11 he passes this he is drafted . into the training depot. , Four months' training follows. At the end of that period, if he can pass the necessary examinations he is svvorn as a probationary constable and is detailed for duty in one of the four main centres under a sergeant. If his work is satisi'actory after 12 months of probationary duty he is sworn m as a permanent constable and is detailed to some police station where be walks the beat as a fullyfiedged policeman. /