POLICE TRAINING

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 35, 4 November 1937, Page 4

POLICE TRAINING

— PreBS Association.)

Fifst Aid More Important Than Life-Saving

(By Telegraph

WELLINGTON, Last Night. New Zealand members of the Royal Life-Saving Society in conference at Wellington recently, expressed the opinion that, in view of the alarming numbers of drownings, all policemey should be qualified life-savers, and decided to approaeh the Minister of Justice with a request that all P olice Force traiaees should be required to qualify for the society 's brouze medallion or its equivalent. •

Interviewed to-day, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. J. Cummings, said that while ho was strongly in favour of as " many as1 possible of both the police and other people knowing how to swim and save life, it would be ^nteresting to know what proportion of drownings could have been avoided by training police in life-saving. He added that in these days a knowledge of first aid was probably of greater value. "Even if our men'were trained up to the hilt, it is questionable in how m .y cases they could be of assistance," he said: "It is a question of being on the spot, and I very much doubt whether there is a police constable preseut in the majority of cases. Usually the first the police hear of a drowning is when they are called upon to drag for the body." ✓ "It would be a fine thing," said the Commissioner, "if as far as practio' able all aehool children could be taught to swim, so that as many people as possible would be able to look after themselves in the water. "Another subject which soems to me to bo even more important than lifesaving is first aid," said the Commissioner. "The number of accidents ' these days w|tich call for skilled attention groatly outweigh -the drown- : iugs. Of course every constable has to havo his St. John Ainbulance certificate of first-aid proficiency. ' ' He added that he had kiiown of cases whefe accident vietiins hatl bled- to death, becnuse nobody was present with a siniple knowledge of . how to apply a tourniquet and stop tlie -bleedingi At times when accidents were of such frequCnt oecurrence, a knowledge of '$rst aid was a valuable asset.