MELBOURNE POLICE

Hokitika Guardian, 4 December 1924, Page 4

MELBOURNE POLICE

■ t OMHTIOXS BEKORE STRIKE. remarkable disi lhshbes. \l E!.Hi I!"IIX K. i 111111• r 37. f;. . Pill evil!, i': i* 111 \ t '.'ll. I ill I'll: 1 !:i i- f I, illl■ :■: I i 11:. 11.11 l !i- * * l-i I .'ini' .1 ■( Hits m i !.,• |.1,11.'!- •I I 11.1 • ! Ill* IV i:: >I. V.-.1l . I ll” i!i . : < ‘oiuniisMoecr id Police, ,\i r .'.ml ! *:::t ee-iy in In ear 11l- 1 1: 1 • i 1.. ■■ ■ n in,l .'Mill-! I lie valour l.iiil.i'i im .in *.\ In, In'.! -Inn in ■■ mu f- l nil,, l( ;l -nil ; • i.. him it tl I I ll!/. I In' | d:.*.'- -i :j 11-i ••• I - hiuv illi. Mill l*'l 111 All .'vii-niil i,,i. I saw nil'll ii lli ip ali'iit:

the -l reels, leauill;.'; imainst lamp posts, •yossipin/y, and aeutally smokimy in uni - It nil in daylipht.” he said. "At niylit I saw tin-in drunk. I repeatedly travelled in the Mi'll,mil'’lie district and in the suburbs lor lonjy distances without sc, 'iny a s i p, i i,| a const able. There were many hutjylarics, hoiisihri'akinjys, and slmphreal.iipys ami only very rarely did the police know imythin;y about them until the owners reported the olleiiees next ti'.oi itiiip. Even when front floors in main slrets were hr"kei, in the police never found, them.” Continuin'.;, Mr Nicholson said that very serious i lfemes were lieiti;; eotnl!ii 1 till liv police constables theiiiselv es. (tiie eolistid.le was found ill imilortn in a warehouse. Iniviny l.iokeii in with the watehliian. Another eotistahli* was IT> lllll l in possesion of stolen property. 'l'wo other ennslallies, said Mr Nieholsoii, went to Woribee in Ihe nuilorear of a notorious criminal. The ear was insured for three limes its value. While at Wet-rib,;.' they went a little distance away from the ear, and it went up In flames. These two constables sent a report direct to the insurance company, instead of t ItfiMtj'h their ollieer eertifyino that the lire was neuuine. Tile genuineness ol the lire was very letteli i|iiestioned, and Mr Nicholson directed an investigation. The two constables were suspended anil lined heavily. The criminal with whom they went to Werrihee was an associate of ” Sipiii'.'/.y” Taylor, and used lo drive liim about.

One night,” conii■■■■•■• 1 the witness

“I went into Cobh’s (ale, lio'.tike Street, ii'mtlL one o’clock. Two eoustahles in uniform entered. The woman who was serving took out a piece of paper, and .asked. What are l votir ntnnhers' They told her, and she I said: Another one eunie in here a lii,tle while ;ioii, anil 1 ;;ttve him his I supper. You must have a very 0,,0d senior constable to let you come in here when you like. The coll stable said: * Yes, we have a hoaxer, lie lets us do what we like.’ Those men should have heen on their heal. They added: ‘ Hut our chief commissioner is tt .’ In fact, they called me everything that was had. They did not recognise me, although I was sitting quite close to them. I tonic no action against the men, because I did not make mysell 'known as soon as they came in. I did not want lo take a moan advantage. In the circumstances, T forgot the incident ollicinlly, and remembered it only for personal guidance.” ' “NOT IN MY DISTRICT.”

“ Another serious type of offence,” said Mr Nicholson, “was being committed by constables at station who refused to act oil complaints on the ground that the oll’enee was not committed in their district. Ihe constables would reply: ‘That is not in lily district,’ and hang tip flic telephone. I punished men severely for that offence. On one occasion in St. Kilda a woman saw a iiunilter of men entering her house. One of the men was in police uniform. The woman became excited, and asked the telephone exchange for Windsor, hut was connected with Prahran. Site said: ‘There are burglars in my house. Come at once.’ Tito constable said: ‘That is not in my district ; ring up St Kilda.’ She said: ‘I cannot. The burglars are in my house now.’ The constable took no further notice.'

“ Later, when warned by a plain clothes constable that he would get into trouble, the constable rang up St Ivilda, but gave them the wrong address. When the St Kilda police finally found the house, the burglars had