COURT CLERK WANTED.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 9, Issue 591, 10 December 1920, Page 2

COURT CLERK WANTED.

Application has been made Cor a clerk of the court at Pukekohe, certainly not before it was time. So great in volume has the local court work grown that it takes at least one officer's whole time to attend to clerical and routine duties, and owing to "the force having been engaged on investigation work in connexion with the Pukekawa murder for some two or three months, the court work has piled up enormously. Few people have iiny idea of the clerical ind general duties undertaken by the central office of a police district such as the one at Pukekohe.' For the whole district, apart from what might be called legitimate police work, or the investigation of crime, statistics of all live stock in the district, as well as the amount- and kinds of produce grown, have to be compiled ann-ially, which is a tall order. Also, inspection wo.-k for the Department of Labour makes another big call. Money received and paid out in respect to maintenance cases have to be handled both inwards and outwards by the police. Last court day there were one hundred cases of various kinds set down for hearing, so tha-t, one way and another, the police force does not enjoy an eight-hour day, but is probably the hardest worked of all State departments, especially in a district like Pukekohe, where it is no uncommon thing for an officer to be obliged to ride twenty-five or thirty miles to serve a summons. It may also be mentioned that, just before the Pukekawa murder case came on the local police had for some two months kept night vigils at the premises of a certain business house where petty thefts were being carried <>n, and ultimately secured the culprit. It is quite obvious that clerical assistance is needed badly in order to relieve officials from much work that a clerk could do, mid to enable them to accomplish their legitimate duties without, suffering such overstrain as they have experienced during the past six months.