9

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Population in the residential parts of the city is now increasing, and there are not so many empty houses as there were when my last annual report was furnished. It will be necessary to provide for a new station in Kelburne during the coming year, so that a resident constable may be available there. The offences return for the year ended 31st December, 1911, shows a decrease of 224 offences as compared with the previous year. The principal decreases were —Common assaults, 40 ; assault and robbery, 7 ; burglary and housebreaking, 22 ; cruelty to animals, 25 ; drunkenness, 15 , gaming offences, 38 ; illegally on premises, 29 ; indecent exposure, 11 ; obscene language, 29 ; theft (ordinary), 22 ; and vagrancy, 36. Increases appear under —Indecent assaults, 5 ; deserting merchant ships, 38 ; disobeying orders of Court, 16 ; false pretences, 12 ; and mischief (malicious injury), 27. The undetected offences are 279, including 50 ship-deserters, 37 for disobeying orders of Court or failing to provide for relatives, and many other trivial cases of theft, &c. The conduct of the Force has been good. Only 11 fines were recorded for breaches of discipline during the year, and 5 constables were called upon to resign. I again beg to draw attention to the necessity for better cell accommodation at Lambton Quay Station. A few years ago I drew attention to the continually increasing clerical work, a great deal of it being in connection with duties of other Departments, which is thrust upon Police Inspectors, thereby preventing them from giving attention to far more important police duties and outside supervision. Immense files of correspondence arise in connection with the collection of debts due to the Education Department for maintenance of children in industrial schools. There is also a great deal of correspondence attended to for the Railway Department in hunting for goods, luggage, and parcels sent astray on both freight and passenger trains. For the Old-age Pensions Department there is a great deal of inquiry and writing to be done. I estimate the work done for the Education Department throughout this district is equal to the services of two men, and when the time occupied by clerical work and outside inquiries in connection with the same is taken into account I consider the value of the services is from £300 to £400 annually. The Railway inquiries are probably worth nearly £200 when all the timefand work is taken into account. Each of these classes of inquiries has to pass through the Inspector's hands probably three or four times —never less than twice—so that when the same is added to the ordinary police correspondence, accounts, and inquiries, the time of an Inspector is usually occupied seven to eight hours daily on purely clerical work. The increase of clerical work during the past ten years has been marvellous. I beg to ask that a new station may be authorized at Kelburne Jfor one constable, another constable for Kilbirnie and Miramar Peninsula, and two constables for Wellington City; also another sergeant for this city for relieving work and other special duties within the district. An extra sergeant has been on the strength temporarily for some time past, but he has been nearly all the time absent on relieving duty in other districts. Included in the stuength of Wellington Station there is, as in other cities, one constable continuously employed in the Magistrate's Court doing Court orderly and other duties ; another constable is nearly all his time occupied as orderly in the Supreme Court, owing to the numerous sittings of the Appeal Court and civil work ; and a third is employed under the Department of Internal Affairs (away from the police-station) as Inspector of Weights and Measures. The latter duty might well be amalgamated with some other Department, as the Health Department now attends to a great deal of the work which used to be done in former years by Inspectors of Weights and Measures.

Inspector Black, Greymouth District. The actual strength of the Force in this district on the 31st March, 1912, was 1 Inspector, 5 sergeants, 37 constables, and 1 detective sergeant, total 44, being the full authorized strength of the Force for this district. One constable was retired on pension, having reached the age-limit. During the year 2 constables were fined for neglect of duty and 1 for another offence. With these exceptions the conduct of the men in this district has been good. I understand that a police-station is soon to be erected at Cobden, and I consider it is badly needed. The criminal statistics show 877 offences reported during the year ended the 31st December, 1911, being a decrease of 19 on previous year's totals. Out of 877 offences reported, 816 are accounted for by arrests and summonses, being, I submit, a very fair record for the police in this district.

Inspector Kiely, Christchurch District. On the 31st March last the strength of the Force was as follows : 1 Inspector, 2 Sub-Inspectors, 5 senior sergeants, 9 sergeants, 109 constables, 8 detectives, 3 acting-detectives. The casualties for year were —Resignations, 8 ; discharged on superannuation, 2. The total number of offences reported in this police district during the year ending on the 31st December, 1911, was 3,971, and the number for which persons were apprehended or summoned was 3,774. A decrease of 13 offences is shown in comparison with the number of offences reported for the year 1910. The principal increases in offences for the year are as follows : Common assaults, 33 ; cruelty to animals, 13 ; deserting or absenting from merchant vessels, 39 ; disobeying orders of Court and summonses, 19 ; false pretences, 28 ; malicious injury to property, 7 ; mischief, 6 ; neglected

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