TOO MUCH POWER

NZ Truth, Issue 1205, 3 January 1929, Page 4

TOO MUCH POWER

Should Police Commissioner Have Authority To Dismiss?

Apart from any result from the claim of a constable against Commissioner W. B. Mcllveney for alleged wrongful treatment, the question must arise whether the Police Commissioner's disciplinary^ powers have not too wide a scope.

SO* far as uniformed constables are concerned, he has the power to dismiss, and . when this extreme action is regarded necessary by the commissioner it costs the country at least £100; statistical. records proving that it costs at least this amount o put a new constable on the street. Recruits are trained, at the depots, but it is claimed by those m authority that a. high standard of efficiency cannot be reached until a constable has served about five years. Cases have come under the notice of this paper where uniformed men have been reduced m status without a charge being preferred against them, while trivial charges have been met with sentences out of all proportion to the gravity of the offence. In the courts of justice the' first offender, even at times the burglar and the forger, are given probation, yet m the ranks of uniformed policemen, unjust sentences have been imposed

and have caused a feeling of discontent m the force. While there is a need for discipline m such an organization, the safety o£ society demands that the guardians of the law shall be decently treated, even when they err. * The Poiice Commissioner's . powers at present are widesweeping m their effect, and m such a position where he has a large territory to cover and is almost entirely dependent oh thetestimony and advice of subordinate officers when inquiring into alleged offences by uniformed men, his powers should be curbed. It is not suggested that Commissioner Mcllveney wields his powers harshly or that he acts unjustly when dealing with charges against his men. This is not a complaint against the present occupant of the Police Commissioner's office; it is a condemnation of the system, and the, new Minister of Justice could do worse than give this matter his early, attention.