EFFICIENT FORCE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 649, 29 September 1933, Page 6

EFFICIENT FORCE

J — — NEW ZEALAND POLICE COMPARES VERY FAVOURABLY WITH BEST ENGLISH TRADITIONS. UNDER ONE CONTROL. Under the control of one head, the Commissioner of Police, the organisation of New Zealand's small but remarkably efiicient Police Foree compares favourably, and in some instances more than favourably with that of the English. The reputation of the English policeman is such that the average man might be excused for believing the English police to be "the last word" in organisation and superior to that of the New Zealand Force. Tradition, which to a very .great extent seems to govern the lives of people in the Old Country, has hampered the logical development of the English Police Force along national lines. To-day the cities, towns, and boroughs still have their semhindependent forces in which a man may be confined to beat dut;y during the whole of bis service without the opportunity of promotion. In •New Zealand every reeruit has the chanee to work his way up to the highest rank. Different Forces. Fundamentally, the differenee between the New Zealand and English Forces is that the f ormer is a national one. England, on the other hand, is policed by something like .forty or fifty forces. In the City of London there are two distinct police forces. Under the direct control of the city authorities, the City of London Police Force has jurisdiction over an area within a square mile of Bow Bells. The rest of London, having a radius of forty miles, is under the control of the Metropolitan Police Force, which has at its head Lord Trenchard. In addition to these two forces, the Port of London Authority at one time maintained its own police force on the river front.

Until recent years the members of these different forces exercised authority in their own areas only. Difficulties arose in executing Court processes issued in one area and served in another. Closer cohesion p,nd a more uniform standard of the police forces throughout England has since been obtained by bringing them all under the supervision of his Majesty's Inspeetor-General of Police Forces, an officer attached to the Home Office. Local Bodies' Contribution. Another differenee between the New Zealand and tbe English Forces is that a proportion of the cost of the English police is contributed by the local bodies and the balance by the Government. Provision is made for criminal experts from Scotland Yard to be available to assist any police force in England. In times of special stress rei'nforcements of police from the Metropolitan area are available to assist the smaller police forces. The system still has its difficulties, and it is only in recent years that any degree of amalgamation Has been achieved. In practice a member of a police force in England is limited to duties required of him in the town or borough of the force to which he belongs. The majority of the policemen are therefore confined to beat and patrol duty, even to tbe rank of inspector. Widi'er Opportunities. Whereas in England a policeman may be confined to beat duty year after year in the same town or village, the New Zealand policeman bas many opportunities to widen his out- i look. Rural police stations are scattered over the length and breadth of the Dominion, and after a constable has served a few years on beat duty he is usually transferred to take charge of one of these. Sometimes his jurisdiction extends over an area seventy or eighty miles square. In

addition to his usual work of preserving law and order and detecting offenders, he may be called upon to discharge a variety of duties, such as clerk of court, clerk of a licensing committee, inspector of factories, mining registrar, kauri gum and forest ranger, and probation officer. This gives a constable an extensive knowledge of men and affairs and develops self-reliance and initiative. Country constables are deservedly held in high respect and esteem by the community. For departmental purposes all constables are liable for transfer to any part of New Zealand. It is largely from the ranks of the country constables that the sergeants aro drawn. No member of the Force can reeeive promotion to a higher rank until he has passed the necessary qualifying examination. The examination for promotion from constable to sergeant includes a literary section designed to test tbe candidate's educational qualifications, a law section bearing' on those statutes with which members of the Force have most frequently to deal, and a third section dealing with practical police and detective duties, and departmental regulations and instructions.

Chances of Promotion. After a country constable has been promoted to sergeant he is usually transferred to a city to take control of men on beat duty. After some years of this work he is appointed to take charge of a sergeant's station in the country which usually has two or more sub-stations under it. More difficult examinations have to be passed before a sergeant can be promoted to senior-sergeant, and subsequently to commissioned rank. Appointments are made from those best qualified for f urther advancement. The principles governing promotion are efficiency,- good eharacter, and seniority. Preference is always given to those wbo display superior intelligence,' zeal, and integrity in the discharge of police duties. Members of the Force are given to understand that there will be no hesitation in selecting the meritorious and efficient officer for promotion in preference to the' senior and less efficient one. For the purposes of enf orcement of the law the advantage is very much in; favour of the national force. Provincial police forces existed in New Zealand until 1881. They were then abolished and a national police force was formed on the lines of the pres-ent-day Force. Old customs die hard in England, and it will probably be many years before the English police forces are combined under one head as in New Zealand, .