THE POLICE COMMISSION

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 1 September 1909, Page 38

THE POLICE COMMISSION

SITTING AT AUCKLAND. ADCKLAJiS), A»gi** 24The Police Conjmiaeicax-opened its fitting c* the Supreme Court this morning. Constable Thompson, a delegate from the foßce in Auckland, said it was the unanimous opinion that <r,he pay on joining {he force was too low. It should start *t .83 a day, and advance by 6d a day every three years till it reached 10s a day. Marxied constables should get Is 6d a day instead of Is. They asked for 18 days instead of 12 days' annual leave, and the .privilege of letting it accumulate for three years. They wonted one day off per month, and free uniforms. It was felt <foere mt something wrong with the system of promotion. In recent years junior men 3*ad been promoted over .senior men. Other things being equal, senior men should receive preference. A case in point -was tbat of Constable Muggeridge, of Wellington. The men had no objeotion to the promotion of detectives to the higher ranks, co long as they were appointed in proportion to their numbers And had the necessary qualification. In feply to Mr Dinnie, witness said merit did not always appear in the making of promotions. He knew the inspector was asked to submit the names of men, and it was well to do co. He could not suggest a better system, if it were followed. Witness said discipline was well maintained in the force. Constable HSmmond said die Auckland iorce desired to protest against the time in adjudicating upon trivial cases in the Magistrate's Court. Mr Bishop : I cannot allow any reflection on magistrates. Witness : I only brought the matter forward as the outcome of a resolution by the Auckland police. Mr Bishop: There is only one way in which that can be dealt with, and it is not here. \ Constable Carmody, of Whangaroa, said j be had been in the force for 30 yeere, and had .always been overlooked for promotion. I He was 57 years of age. Five years ago lie had asked the Commissioner of Police j •t&ha reason for his non-promotion, and Mr Dinnie replied that his age was a bar, aad that iie did not like promoting anyone " over 45 years of age. Constable Dunne, of Ponsonby, complained that he also had been overlooked in promotion. Be bad applied for promotion, and had pointed out fcha-t a number of younger men had been advanced over him. In witness's opinion, political influence was rampant. Witness washed to impress upon xhe commissioner that clerks And storekeepers should not be promoted to the rank of sergeant. T<here was the -case of Sergeant Muggeridge in Wellington, a,nd then again there was the case of CyConnell as .an instance of political influence. Constable Dunne cited the case of (the Bay of j Islands district. Every constable living in j thai, electorate had been promoted to the rank of sergeant except witness and another man, who had refused the office. Mr Bishop: What do you deduce from this?— Witness: The only inference I can ■ciaraw is that a move was made .by Mr Houston, a good-hearted -man, in the direction of hiving these men promoted. Mr Bishop : Why not you?— Witnes s: He spoke to m« many times, and asked if he could do anything dor me at Wellington, end I always eaid 'No thanks.' " Mr Bishop: You think that if -you had 6aid " Yes, get me promoted to sergeant," it would have -followed ?— Witness : 1 think I would have had a very good chance. August 25. Before th.3 Police Commission to-daj Dr Sharman, medical officer, on being asked if he had anything to say in reply to the complaints made, said he had information which showed that certain individuals had approached a memoer of Parliament to have him (Dr Sharman) fired out of the force, bag and baggage. He was endeavouring to Bupply proof of this. Dr Sharman then retired, it being anderstood that he would be called again in the afternoon. Constable Foreman said that he had personally declined promotion, but that there was a good deal of influence connected therewith. He mentioned the following cases in which juniors had been promoted over seniors : — Hodgson, over ill seniors -, Keith, over 191 seniors; O'Reilly, over 131 seniora; Eceles, over 159 seniors; Creen, ovser 148 seniors; Cummings, over 230 seniors Sergeant Sheehan, a deputation from the sergeants, said probationers should -be employed for 12 months at 7e od per day. Inspectors should have power to end probation at any time during iJiat period. He objected to the preferential promotion of pliin-clothes xnaa He .also complained of the work of what he described ,*s -the " bandy man." While -he -was in .charge of Newton Station the inspector received a. telegram from the commissioner .asking him to jreport on the -efficiency -*nd .organisation of the station, -as lie had .reason to -wonder whether a. change, -at Newton Station was not desirable, and would like to know whether the inspector could not make recommendations. There was no cause whatever for complaint, and he could only conclude that it was the work of the "" handy raw." Witness said there had been an inferior class of men entering the force during the last three yeare — what were called »ud ~no£ £i for -i2>a serv'ge. When

they got in it was d -moult to get them out again as long as they "behaved themaelves. Mr Bishop: To what do you attribute • this state of things? — Oh, men come here ■from Australia ana get into the force, and they contaminate others. Mr Bishop: And what is the reason of it? Are no good men available? — I do not see why they should not he available, but I think "the small rote of pay offered is a Imr. Another idling is that the youth of •the Dominion -do not seem inclined to knuckle down to discipline. Mr Dinnie submitted Sergeant Sheehan to a cross-examination on toe question of " handy men " without shaking the conviction of tiie sergeant that these "handy i j&en" existed: , The discipline in the Auckland district was .referred to by the witness as the best in 'New Zealand. He did not think that ! sergeants should be allowed to remain more ; than six years at one station. August 26. j ■Before the Police Commission this morn- : ing the Rev. Mr Budd, Church of England 1 gaol chaplain, complained that the police j ■and detectives had been guilty of unneces- j sary amd improper interference with dis- j charged prisoners. He knew of cases in which discharged prisoners, having obtiuneS employment for days or weeks, "wese unecrtbed by constables, who ■ informed the -of the, character -of ■a naan, and the man was often cast adrift. He urged that when & man. desired to lead An honest life lie should be helped rather than hindered. One young m*n, who -haul ■ bitterly complained of ha-vtng been -dogged by the -police, subsequently committed suicide. Mr Bishop said this was a. serious matter. The police must keep surveillance over notorious criminals. There was a difference between ordinary surveillance *nd going to &n employer And telling him that a man he employed had been in prison. Mr Budd said he had unquestionable instances of the kind Mr Bishop did not think this was the practice. He should not hesitate to express an opinior strongly i>f such a case came before him. If a discharged prisoner was in a position of trust, the police had a duty to perform, but be was sure that j neither Commissioner nor inspector would ; «.Ik>w .any man going out of g-aol and seek- ! ing honest employment to be harried in j the way stated. 1 Inspector Cullen (to Mr Budd) : When ! you came to m-e about this matter, didn't I say I strongly objected ? Mr Budd: Yes. The matter then drepped. Sergeant George Wohlman advocated an increase in the rate of pay to 8s per day j for constables joining the force, with in- . orements of 6d per day until ths maximum 1 was reached. He suggested that it would be preferable to recruit from s amongst married men if it was possible and to induce them to join. The house allowance should be increased. 1 "Mr Bishop : I think it would be a good ; thing if we could get married men, but I doubt if you -eou^d gat them. Married men are generally of an age when they do not care abotrt making a start at anything ' new. j Sergeant Roger, <cf Onoh,unga, said he , personally hed no fa.ult to find with ths ' manner in which the service was controlled, '. and he had heard nothing of any " handy j man " until the commission commenced its investigation. He had heard something j of political influence, but did not believe ' there was much in it. j Constable Donovan stated that he had | been in -the force sinca 18S3. In 1894 he } had asked the then Commissioner (Colonel ; Hume) why he had not been promoted, j and the reply was that " he had not uncles ' and aunts enough." Continuing, Con- ' stable Donovan said that he had been removed from the control of the Coromandel Station as a result of political influence. An hotelkeeper there, against whom he had ' secured a conviction, announced himself | as a parliamentary candidate, and afteir ; addressing several meetings withdrew from the contest on the understanding that wit- . ness was to be removed from the district, I and witness was accordingly removed, de- f spite the fa^t that ho had bsen recom- ' mended by his inspector for promotion in reward for his services. Mr Bishop, aft»T hearing Constable Donovan's evidence and examining his record, said that it seemed to be a hard case, but it was difficult to afford relief in the case of elderly constables had been overlooked. He would consider the case, bat could make no promise of relief. The Hon. J. M'Gowan, ex-Minister of Justice, will give evidence- to-morrow. August 27. Before the Police Commission fchis morning the Hon. J. M'Gowan, ex-Ministeh of Justice, came forward voluntarily to ' give evidence. He said he was for nine years Minister of Justice and political head of the Police Department. He had no grounds of complaint in regard to Mr Dinnie's administration of the department. The only complaint he had was a geaieral desire for more pay, also in regard to promotion. While in office he was quite satisfied with the eontral of the force. He had frequently been approached by members of Parliament in regard to promotion. If a ma-n was worthy of promotion, and he was recommeoided by a member of Parliament, there could be no objection to the recommendation being made, but if men were not worthy of promotion no recom- j mendation of any member would avail Ttiess applications unquestionably were at } times prompted by the police themselves. He could suggest a remedy, but would not > lite to appiy it— oiameh , take away the ; franchise from the police. > Mr Bishop: But the question of demo- 1 cracy is at the icot of it. Ido not think you can apply that remedy in New Zealand. Mr M'Gowan faid he believed the commissioner should have a free hand up I to a certain point. He should have the i power to suspend a man, but would not i say the commissioner should have nower to dismiss «, man. H« {Mr M'Gowan) ap- ( pointed jioKoe constables -on the commissioner's recommendation. The commiseioned officers were appointed by Cabinet on- the -Minister's .recommendation. Mr i ! Weight vnas promoted from chief clerk to J sub-inspector on Mr- Dinnie's deoommenda- ' tion. Se -could not x/ member the special j circumstances. Only once an application | for ieare for Mr Dmnie's son came, before ! him. It was r.ot an _ application for six ' .months' lea-re, which would certainly have ' been refused ! Mr Bishop: Mr M'Gowan is a disinterested person". If he says onty one appfi- • cation came before him, that should suffice. Mr M'Gowan gave the following reason ' why. in his opinion, there was a difficulty

in eecuring «nd enrolling "new men in the ibroe. With the formation of iso many ■ unions and the making of sd~"inany arbitration awards, the rate of waiges had gone up much higher than it was, and -the result was that men preferred io go in {or manual labour. The principle of increasing wages by arbitration awards was, in his opinion, an "unsound one. If the price of labour was put above its economic value something must happen. While the country prospered it was all right, but with a ■time of depression there would be a very different state of. affairs, and we must suffer. He ihoughf this Had some bearing on the present .scarcity of candidates for the Police Force. Mr H. W. Northcroft. S.M., also gave evidence. Questioned *? Constable Donovan in regard to has allegation that political influence had been ased* to get his removal from Oos;omandel, Mr Northcroft ■aid that he believed that me liotelkeepers at Coromaiklel thought the constable was too strict, -and petilaoned for his removal. One of fHp Jiotelkeepers did come forward | A3 a parliamentary oa.ndi3aJEe, and then retired before the election. Mt Northcroft went on to say that there was one thing to whveh. i«' -deaixed to refer, and .that was the incident "in wiacE c constable giving evidence before the commission bad criticised, tba jiuher in w&lah an .JLueklamd. magistrate oomdjscted bos court. Jt reflected -seriously upon £ne -disciiSJne In the ioroe. Mr Bishop: F think the whole thing is greatly to he regretted. Mr JJbrfchcroft : It made my hair stand on end when I read about it. Mr Bishops You -had an instance just as bad when the constables held a meeting' in Wellington to criticise this commission. They should be treated with the contempt they deserve, just as I treated the "Wellington meeting with the contempt that it d«- ] served. Forty of them assembled there -and criticised me. Mr : Yes. I suppose they will be drawing up the sentences next. Constable Leonard stated that he was present at the meeting of police constables. Tine question that came up was in regard to constables being kept at court. No ! magistrate*" name was mentioned, and 't i was decided that no action should be taken j without referring >the matter to the inj 6peotor and -ascertaining hie opinion in ! regard to what time shouhl bs allowed off for attendance at the court. Mr Bishop : Oh, that alters the position of affairs, and takes away the reflection whicih would otherwise fall on the men of the force. j T. Wake, an ex-member of the Poli,ee j Force, suggested that the system of eiroluj ments should be done away wifeh. The J police did all these things in police time. It often happened that policemen did not have- enough to keep them' Eyeing. It was , too monotonous for him, and -so he got out 'of the service. The emoluments were altogether "too soft a thing." Constable M'Kay, formerly of Wellington, complained of having been fined at ( Wellington (without being heard in his de- ; fence) fox an offence which he denied com- ' mitting. i Mr Bishop said he would inquire into , the matter in Wellington. I Sergeant Ramsey denied that Ithere w»s any complaint against him in Christohurch, ? or that he had been moved from Christ- ' churrih. for any particular reason, as had j been asserted by Mr T. E. Taylor, M.P. | Mr Taylor had an old grievance against j him because he refused to give evidence '. against Inspector Kiierson in 1698. I Mr Dinnie : Mr Taylor has not come f or- \ ward to make me eat my words, as he 6a id he would. August 30. Before the Police Commission this morn1 in? Mo- Keirtle, senior stipendiary magistrate, expressed the opinion that the dis1 eipline of the Police Force was not as good ias it should be. He referred more particularly to some of the younger men apj pointed during the last two years. He t thought theire should be a proper initiaI tory discipline in i.he fores. He had seen ' officers this morning lolling outside the • court, and smoking while in uniform. He thought the men should have at lpa<=t three months' trainine; in the barracks, aid go before a board of inquiry, before they were sent out. He spoke highly of tho various officers in the Auckland Force. He thought, oiher things being equal, that preference should be given to 6«nioT men where vacancies occurred. Mr Kettle did ■not approve of the police beiiwr employed to trap persons committing offences. He stated that hp had reason to believe that the police had been instructed to report upon migi6trates, and indicated that the inj spector hud been concerned. Inspector Cullen .enrrphatieallv denied the allegation. Mr Kettle accepted his disclaimer. Inspw- ■ toT Oullen then etafce-d that he was in- , formed that a magistrate had reported privately to a Minister in regard fo him- i self. Mr Kettle said h.B knew nothing of any such proceedings. j Mr Dinnie: You think the sergeants are worthy of the promotion they have re- | ceived? — I certainly "think so. Take Ser- . geant Ramsay for irLS+ance. He is in every way a capable and efficient officer. Mr Dinnie : So that you do not agree ' with Mr Tavlor, M.P., who stated in the ' I Hon&s that Ramsay should not be in the j force? — I certainly do not. | I Mr Dinnie : You have referred to want, i ;of discipline?— Yps. There is a lack of ! discipline everywhere. You find it in all | j branches of employment. There is the , ! uppH for an -all-round screwing up. j i Mr Dinnie: How far does political in- , i fluence affect the Police Foroe?— l cannot [ ' say that it obtains at all U-o-w could 1 , ■ know whether it did or not? Members of j I Parliament, the Liquor party, or any | other body might seek to use influence. ' ; but I. of course, cannot f-ay whether they i | would succeed . I Dr Sharman. police surgeon, gave evi- | dence in regard to th-e allegations that the I members of T.he force were dissatisfied with | ; him. He said that eight persons out of | every 10 were satisfied with him. The i strain of nig>ht duty ecemed to have a ' detrimental effect upon rome of the mem- ; bers of the- foroe, and he sucrer-eisfced that i there should be a. diffc-r-snee in summer and winter clothine. ! C. H. Poole, M.P., said that a great deal of the work of the police consisted in enforcdnsf the provisions of the Licensing- • Act. and he alleged that they were often i subjected to intimidation. They should j be protected from any such interference '■ from whatever source It might come. He stated that appeals to political influence were becoming quite conrrrxmpkee in New Zealand, and that haivdly a day passed without members ot Parliament being ap-

1 pealed to ibr some sort of favours. ! The commission then adjourned till "tomorrow. i , .