Police News July 08.indd - New Zealand Police Association

The Voice of Police
VOLUME 41 • NUMBER 6 • JULY 2008
Police staff show ‘heart’
for children’s fundraiser
■ POLICE STAFF MOURN THE TRAGIC LOSS OF STEVE FITZGERALD
■ ASSOCIATION REJECTS MOVES TO BAN POLICE FROM LOCAL BODY ELECTIONS
■ SOLUTIONS OFFERED TO GOVERNMENT FOR METHAMPHETAMINE PROBLEM
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
The Voice of Police
VOLUME
VOL
VO
LUME 4
LUME
41 • NUMB
NUMBE
NUMBER
ER 6 • JULY
ER
LY 2008
008
NZ Police Association Police News is the magazine of the
New Zealand Police Association and incorporates the New
Zealand Police Journal first published in 1937.
Editor: Steve Plowman
July 2008, Vol. 41, No.6
ISSN 1175-9445
Deadline for next issue Wednesday, July 16, 2008.
140
ALL HEART
Published by the New Zealand Police Association
P.O. Box 12344, Willbank House, 57 Willis Street, Wellington.
Phone: (04) 496 6800, Facsmile: (04) 471 1309
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.policeassn.org.nz
Printed by City Print Communications, Wgtn.
Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the
Association.
COPYRIGHT: NZPA Police News must not be reproduced in
part or as a whole without the formal consent of the copyright
holder - the New Zealand Police Association.
Contents
143
JACK STILL IN GOOD HEART
From the President
139
Police staff mourn the tragic loss of Steve Fitzgerald
139
Wellington staff show their heart for children’s fundraiser
140
Motorists to be banned from using cellphones behind the wheel
140
O’Connor meets with EuroCop executive and staff
141
Insurance premium annual reviews
142
Association appalled at moves to bar police from local authorities
142
Life Member celebrates 94th birthday
143
Solutions for dealing with meth problems put to Government
144
Memorial Wall
145
Pierce County, USA, blitzes meth epidemic
146
Penguin joins the thin ‘blue’ line
146
Canine hero dies
146
Pink vests set to turn “fame into shame”
147
Recruitment standards for historical EBA charges “may” be relaxed
147
NOT PRETTY IN PINK
Dangers of lowering recruiting standards come home to roost for LAPD
149
Special home loan/insurance offer
150
AiPol’s contributions to the modernisation of policing
138
July 2008
150/1
Calls of “Big Brother” as Met moves to ‘microchip’ police
152
Copper’s crossword
152
Keen on Wine
153
Safety footwear trial
• Front page: From left to right: Wellington Central Police
staff David Boot (in the hat with the Norwegian flag on
it), Dante Christensen, Nicole Walker and Kelly Hansen
still managed a smile despite being immersed in a spa
pool full of ice for a Heart Children NZ fundraiser.
- Photo courtesy of The Dominion Post/Phil Reid.
148/9
154
Sports News
155/6
Letters to the Editor
157/9
Useful information and contacts
160
Pink vests set to turn taggers’
fame into shame – p147
New Zealand Police Association
A turning point for police?
Another horrific murder in Manurewa,
the pointless and callous shooting of
Navtej Singh in his Liquor Store last
month.
And following that, we had the now
almost inevitable criticism of the police
response. This time, they didn’t wait
until after the jury verdict.
But everything is an opportunity, a
learning experience.
And what we should learn from
Manurewa is that the public is clearly
looking for the Police to lead, to get out
there and do the job they want us to do.
And here lies the dilemma. Had the
officers in Manurewa breached the
standard operating procedures, ignored
the protocols around how we respond to
such incidents and either the offenders
or a member of the public had been shot,
those same officers and Police would
have been pilloried.
As I told media critics over the last few
weeks, those breaches would have been
the story, not Mr Singh’s death.
But the real lesson we can learn is that
now is the opportunity to get on the
front foot and start empowering police
“But the real lesson we can learn is that now is
the opportunity to get on the front foot and start
empowering police to act. How do we do that?
Firstly, by fronting up to our critics, instantly and
aggressively.”
to act. How do we do that? Firstly, by
fronting up to our critics, instantly and
aggressively.
Taser is a good example. A small group of
academics, defence lawyers and assorted
anti-police critics, quoting false and
misleading statistics from overseas, have
held up the introduction of a tool, which
is essential to safeguard both public and
police officers from the need to use more
lethal options. And, importantly, save
police from the public witch-hunt which
follows a shooting.
And the Police administration is sitting
on its hands despite knowing the trial
was extremely successful. It is time for
the Commissioner to step up and make
the only decision he can make on this
one; introduce the Taser.
public mood. And use that to bat away
and ignore the critics. Let’s face it; we
have been doing it in relation to road
policing for the last 10 years.
All that happens if we pander to the
critics is that we become tentative. Police
officers are as courageous as ever but
when we become more worried about
using force than having it used on us,
the balance has shifted dangerously. The
criminals are the only winners in that
scenario.
Mr Singh’s death can become the turning
point for police – the event which we will
look back on as the time we stopped
apologising for doing our job the
way it must be done
to best keep new
Zealand safe.
What we need to do now is read the
Stop Press:
Police staff mourn the tragic loss of Steve Fitzgerald
Police staff around the country are in mourning at the
loss of Police National Communications Centre Manager,
Superintendent Steve Fitzgerald, who was killed when he was
hit by a truck while cycling in Petone on 19 June. He was 57.
Police Association President, Greg O’Connor, said Mr Fitzgerald’s
loss would be deeply felt by all who had known him. “Police in
virtually every area of operation, especially in the Road Policing
and Communications areas, are in shock over the death of one
of the Police administration’s good guys,” he said.
“Steve was one of those genuine people who could get the best
out of everyone around him – not by wielding the authority
of his rank, but by the sheer strength of his personality, good
humour and his incredible ability to include everyone in the
plan,” said Mr O’Connor.
Capable and effective
“The two fields he worked in most recently, Road Policing
and Communications, have both increased capability
and effectiveness under his command, as a result of these
characteristics,” he added.
Mr Fitzgerald spent 41 years in policing. He began his police
career in Britain in 1967 and came to New Zealand in 1974
where he served in Wanganui, Auckland and Wellington.
He was station Senior Sergeant for Lower Hutt Police from
1986-1992 and began work at Police National Headquaters
in 1992.
Road safety
In 2000, he was
appointed National
Road Safety Manager.
He took great pride
in being involved
with a road policing
team that changed
attitudes to drink
driving and made • Steve Fitzgerald.
– Photo courtesy of The Dominion Post
a huge impact on
lowering the road toll.
In 2005, Mr Fitzgerald was promoted to oversee and improve
the struggling 111 communications centres and he did an
exemplary job at ironing out problems there.
He also headed a police team that travelled to Thailand as part
of the body recovery programme after a tsunami in late 2004
killed thousands in Asia.
Police Minister, Annette King said Mr Fitzgerald was
“passionate about policing and an outstanding professional
who was committed to ensuring the highest standards of the
New Zealand Police.”
The Police Association offers its deepest sympathies to Steve’s
wife, Pam Cassells, and sons Matthew (a constable at Porirua)
and Greg.
July 2008
139
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Wellington staff
show their heart
for children’s
fundraiser
Wellington
Central
document
examiners, Sergeant David Boot and
Dante Christensen, along with central
colleagues Nicole Walker and Kelly
Hansen recently engaged in the Heart
Stopper Challenge, which consisted of
sitting in spa pools filled with ice – all
in the good cause of raising funds for
children with heart problems.
Thirty-five teams took part, each
having to spend five minutes in the
pool.
Heart Children New Zealand Chief
Executive, Garth Halliday, told
Wellington’s The Dominion Post that
the genesis for the idea had come from
the fact that children undergoing heart
surgery are sometimes ‘put on ice’ to
slow their hearts down during an
operation.
The ice dip raised $20,000. Mr
Halliday said 185 children with heart
conditions would be helped as a
result.
Police team leader, Dante Christensen,
said the police staff decided to get a
team together at short notice after
seeing posters around the police
station advertising the event.
He said it wasn’t hard taking the first
• MAKING A SPLASH: Wellington Central police staff wiled away the time in the freezing
cold with the occasional bit of entertainment, as in soaking each other from head to foot
with the icy cold water.
- Photo courtesy of The Dominion Post/Phil Reid.
plunge into the pool, but controlling
their breathing in the freezing water was
extremely difficult.
Extreme cold
“There was no hesitation from any of
us, but the hardest part was getting
your breath back. For about the first
minute you’re in a hyperventilationtype state and you have to force yourself
to stop breathing so hard. After that the
next two minutes were painful and the
last two minutes numbness - having
said that it was different for different
people,” he said.
Mr Christensen said that despite the
pain and numbness, the five minutes
they were required to stay in the pool
went by very quickly.
“We had a guy with a microphone
asking us questions, another guy
topping up the pool with ice and the
time keeper giving us updates. Before
you knew it, it was time to get out,
which wasn’t that easy considering
the numbness…we then got two
minutes in a proper hot spa and
then got the use of the Les Mills Gym
showers, and were given hot drinks
and soup for our efforts. The hot tub
made a huge difference so by the time
we got to the showers the shivering
had stopped,” he said.
Motorists may be banned from
using cellphones behind the wheel
Drivers who use cellphones while on
the move will be fined $50 and given
25 demerit points under proposed
amendments to the Land Transport (Road
User) Rule announced last month.
The number of reported crashes involving
cellphone distraction has more than
doubled in the past six years, and the
planned law change is an attempt to get
people to alter their behaviour and not
use hand-held cellphones when driving.
The moves follow a string of fatal road
crashes caused by cellphone distraction,
and immense public pressure for
change. A recent survey indicated that
two thirds of young people readily
admit to texting while driving.
140
July 2008
Since 1995, cellphone distraction has
contributed to 446 vehicle crashes,
causing 34 deaths and injuring 587
people. In 2006 alone, driver distraction
accounted for 26 fatal accidents at a
social cost of $300 million.
Pressure for change
The new law would bring New Zealand
into line with at least 45 other countries
that already have bans in place. Handheld devices including cellphones,
BlackBerrys and other digital assistants
would be banned, while hands-free
car kits would be allowed. Transport
Safety Minister, Harry Duynhoven said
a ban would only work if supported
by the public and driver education
programmes. Public consultation would
begin in August and the law should be
passed by July 2009.
The Automobile Association expressed
concern that the demerit penalty was
too high. AA spokesperson, Mike Noon,
said that instead of allowing hands-free
kits, which research shows to be as
dangerous as driving at the legal bloodalcohol limit, motorists should have call
diversion systems, that they could set
their phones to before driving.
Police Association President, Greg
O’Connor, said police officers were
currently divided on the proposed ban
and the repercussions it would have on
their job.
New Zealand Police Association
O’Connor takes opportunity to meet
with EuroCOP executive and staff
Police Association President, Greg O’Connor, who is also
Chairman of the International Council of Police Representative
Associations (ICPRA) met EuroCOP executive and staff in
Luxembourg recently to discuss European policing issues.
EuroCOP became a member of the ICPRA in November
2007.
The ICPRA was established to bring
national police unions together to discuss
police union issues, to share information
and to foster strong relationships between
national associations.
services and police unions function in other parts of the
world. There is mutual benefit for EuroCOP and ICPRA in
this affiliation. EuroCOP knows European policing models
and represents different kinds of organisations, from the wellestablished in Belgium and Germany, to the newer unions of
Eastern Europe.”
“The borders between police
are disappearing, we need to
make sure that the borders
between police unions are
disappearing as well.”
O’Connor had the opportunity to meet
EuroCOP Vice-President Jan Schonkeren:
“We are very pleased to be a part of this
international police union network. It
is essential for EuroCOP to extend its
horizons even internationally, and there
are many things one can learn from one
another, “Schonkeren said.
“The borders between police are
- NZ Police Association President,
disappearing, we need to make sure that
the borders between police unions are
Greg O’Connor.
disappearing as well,” O’Connor said. “It
Common ground
is now quite common for police officers to be working abroad
ICPRA affiliates, including EuroCOP, have exchanged
on duties like United Nations peacekeeping missions and
information on occupational health and safety issues, wages
recently officers have been recruited from abroad.”
and benefits, future trends in policing, police unionism,
Imported policing models
“Our governments and senior police executives like to gather
ideas from other countries and police unions want to make
sure that they know what management and government are
up to and to ensure their members’ perspectives are also
shared. Police unions have to understand how other police
private security, police reform and two-tier policing. The
two-tier threat involves the use of civilian or reduced status
personnel supplementing or supplanting fully-trained sworn
police officers. This issue has come to the forefront of New
Zealand policing recently, with various provisions contained
in the Policing Bill.
• NZ Police Association President, Greg O’Connor (left), who is also the Chairman of the International Council of Police Representative
Associations (ICPRA) meets Joe Grant, General Secretary of the Scottish Police Federation recently.
July 2008
141
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Insurance premium annual reviews
Each year, the relevant
underwriters review Police
General Insurance (home,
motor vehicle and pleasure
Police Supplementary Life
rates.
portfolio
Fire and
contents,
craft) and
Insurance
20%. Fortunately, we have not been as
affected and our house premiums will
increase by about 15%. Depending on
the size of the house, this equates to
about a $2 per fortnight increase for
most members.
on 9 July and Police Fire & General
Insurance on 3 September. This means
automatic payments to the Credit Union
may need to be increased.
Police Supplementary Life Insurance
Police Supplementary Life premiums
are adjusted annually as members get
older, with renewals effective in July
each year. Members will have already
received their advice of premium
adjustments.
Vehicle premiums will increase by about
7.5%, also reflecting the claims history of
the portfolio. While the actual increase
will vary according to the vehicle value
and location, most members will see an
increase of less than $1.50 per fortnight.
Again, it is worth noting that this is less
than the increases being introduced by
most other insurers.
• Through the Police Network 44446;
Police Fire & General Insurance
Police Fire & General insurance
premiums are assessed against claims
and a provision is also made for
inflation. This year the average increase
across the whole portfolio, including
inflation is 6.7%. The new premiums
will come into effect in early September
and members will be advised of their
renewal details, directly by mail before
this.
This year, only premiums for house and
motor vehicle cover will increase, with
no change, except for inflation, in the
premiums for contents and pleasurecraft
cover.
Claims against house insurance have
been particularly high this year, not
just for our portfolio, but generally
across New Zealand with some insurers
increasing premiums by as much as
If you pay from Police pay:
Members who pay their premiums
through the Police payroll system do
not have to do anything. The relevant
premium increase for Supplementary
Life will be automatically deducted
from your pay of 9 July and for Fire &
General insurance from your pay of 3
September.
If you pay through your Police and
Families Credit Union account:
Once the relevant Renewal Advice
has been received, Members who pay
their premiums through the Police and
Families Credit Union will need to
ensure they have sufficient funds
going into their Credit Union account
to meet premium increases for their
Police Supplementary Life Insurance
For any information contact the Member
Services Centre:
• By Direct Dial 04 496 6800;
• Toll Free 0800 500 122, or
• By Email to
[email protected]
Take the 10 minute Contents
Insurance check…
Assets are accumulated over
time and we often find the level
of contents cover held by many
members is insufficient when they
suffer a major loss.
Use our handy checklist on
www.policeassn.org.nz to help
you work out how much cover you
actually need. This lists common
items with realistic values and has
been put together for you; So if
you don’t have much time to spend
working each value out, you can use
these totals as a guide.
If you need further information
or assistance for this, contact our
Member Services Team.
Association appalled at moves to bar police from local authorities
By Bex Shannon, Communications Assistant
Moves to bar police from becoming elected representatives on their
local authority are being condemned by the Police Association.
from either taking a positive role in their local community or their
police duties,” Mr O’Connor said.
“No other public servants are so constrained,” he said.
The recent report back to parliament on the Policing Bill
recommends police constables, authorised officers and supervisors,
who stand as an elected member of a local government body,
must take a leave of absence, or decide not to stand.
Mr O’Connor said that both the Police and Council Codes of
Conduct could easily address conflicts of interest that may arise
from being a police officer and a local authority representative. “A
law change is over the top and unnecessary,” he said.
Under existing law, officers are allowed to stand for local
government bodies, but not be MPs. However, New Zealand First
believe the restriction should be widened even further to include
community boards.
Step backwards
Retired Temuka Police sergeant, Glen Smith, who was a police
officer at the same time as he served on the Temuka community
board, told The Timaru Herald the move would be a backwards
step as the roles complimented each other.
Law enforcers not law makers
The report said: “The concern from submitters was that since local
bodies have by-law making powers there was a constitutional
anomaly that allows law enforcers to also be law makers”.
“I found when I was on the community board it really helped that
I was a policeman as well, as you could solve a lot of issues before
they became a big problem,” he said.
Police Association President, Greg O’Connor, said the Association
is appalled by the proposed law change.
National MP Chester Borrows said his party thought the change
was “a bit harsh” and he was looking at drafting an amendment
to the bill.
“Many police officers have a great insight and commitment to their
community, which can greatly benefit local councils. At a time
when police need to connect with the public and build positive
relationships, this move simply forces police to isolate themselves
“We think that police often add to the council where they are
involved and so to draw a line through them being able to stand for
local government is a bit harsh we think,” he told the New Zealand
Press Association.
142
July 2008
New Zealand Police Association
Life Member celebrates 94th birthday
Police Association Life Member, Jack
Craig, celebrated his 94th birthday in
style in Levin recently.
members belonging to the club were
included in the card. Jack remembered
many of them.
Jack, a resident of the Reevedon Rest
Home, celebrated the special occasion
with nine friends. They were treated
to an afternoon tea, which included a
lovely birthday cake.
Jack, who is also known as John, was
one of the founding members of the
Dunedin Retired Police Cub. He attended
the inaugural meeting on 12 December
1979 to discuss forming a club, and was
elected as the club’s second chairman in
April 1981. Jack also served as President
until he “retired” from office in 1988.
Jack wasn’t aware of his friends’ visit
until lunchtime, and was truly delighted
that they showed such an interest in his
special day. He is still in excellent spirits,
very bright and with a good sense of
humour. His memory is excellent, and
he is as sharp as a tack, being able to
recount policing ‘war stories’ with ease.
Lengthy service
Jack served as a police officer in Dunedin
from 1936 until 1974.
Jack was presented with a signed
card, and a letter sent from Dunedin
Retired Police Club, who wished him
well and offered their congratulations
on his milestone. The names of all the
Active membership
Jack maintained active membership
and attendance for over 15 years before
moving to Levin in May 1995.
He was made a Life Member of the club
on 8 April 1996.
Jack was made a Life Member of the NZ
Police Association in 1977 after many
years of valuable service to members,
this included serving on the Dunedin
district committee from 1947-74 and
was a national councillor between
1965-69.
• Friends and family who visited Jack Craig to celebrate his 94th birthday include: Dunedin
Retired Police Club President Garry Roddick, his partner Shirley Rowe, Peter Miller, Bev
Craig, (Jack’s daughter-in-law), John Craig junior, Margaret Miller, Eileen Ryan, Doug Doe
and Barry Thackwell.
July 2008
143
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Solutions for dealing with meth
problems put to Government
By Bex Shannon, Communication Assistant
Drug treatment courts, tougher legislation,
drug testing, and the establishment of a
national drug control policy office, were
among 21 recommendations presented
in parliament recently by an ex-cop who
believes he has the solutions to turn around
New Zealand’s ‘P’ epidemic.
Mike Sabin, managing director of Methcon
Group Ltd - New Zealand’s only specialist
methamphetamine consultancy and
education provider - presented a research
discussion paper titled ‘Solutions to the
methamphetamine crisis in New Zealand:
a study of demand and supply-side
interventions and their efficacy’ to the
Law and Order Select Committee in late
May. The document outlines what “works”
and “doesn’t work” in tackling major drug
problems, and is aimed at providing the
government with proven strategies to solve
the nation’s ‘P’ problem.
Mr Sabin’s discussion paper culminates
months of research, which involved
consulting with methamphetamine
experts, professionals and former users
from New Zealand and the United States,
and analysing hundreds of studies and
research papers to come up with a range of
recommendations he believes are proven.
“The purpose of the document was to say
here’s some of the things that work - let’s
look at a range of options for what we could
do in NZ,” Mr Sabin told Police News.
Some key recommendations included:
• The establishment of a national drug control
policy office, led by a group of specialists,
which reports directly to the Prime
Minister and ensures administration and
accountability of all drug policy objectives
and outcomes across all ministries;
• Overhauling the national drug policy
and abandoning the focus on ‘harm
minimisation’ in favour of an approach
based on ‘harm elimination’;
• A refocus of policing priorities and
resources towards organised criminal
entities, and stronger enforcement of
drug-related offences along with improved
powers and legislation to address
precursor supply and disrupt criminal
markets;
• Restrictions on the amount of
pseudoephedrine that can be purchased
with daily/monthly limits and electronic
monitoring of purchases, alongside retailer
precursor awareness programmes aimed
at deterring the purchase of legitimate
retail products for use in illicit purposes;
• The implementation of drug treatment
courts, which mandate drug treatment
and seek to respond to and address the
drug addiction contributing to criminal
offending;
• The introduction of co-ordinated youth
education and screening programmes,
which utilise random student drug testing
to deter drug use and provide early
intervention; and
• The development of widespread,
accessible, co-ordinated treatment
infrastructure alongside effective education
and screening intervention services aimed
at identifying and responding to drug use
and addiction.
Positive feedback
Mr Sabin said that despite some negative
media coverage, with criticism drawn from
the Health Minister, Jim Anderton, and drug
law reform group NORML about drug testing
in schools and workplaces, the feedback
he had received after his Select Committee
hearing had been largely positive.
We remember…
July 2008
Mr Sabin said the media had blown out
of proportion the recommendation to
facilitate drug testing in schools and that
he would continue to stand behind his
recommendation.
“Ideally, testing would be attached to extra
curricular school activities that are seen as
a privilege over and above the normal state
school curriculum. Over 400 schools in the
US do it. Around 89% of students had said
the benefit to them was that it gave them
an ‘out’. In other words, it defused peer
pressure by saying, ‘well I can’t use drugs,
I’m on the team and I could get busted and I
don’t want to do that’,” he said.
Reduced recidivism
Mr Sabin also said that US drug treatment
courts had helped to reduce recidivism rates
from around 60% to as low as 5% and, in
his opinion, would be a welcome addition to
New Zealand’s justice system.
“The cost benefit is at least four-to-one,
or as much as seven-to-one. So for every
dollar you spend, you’re saving $4 to $7.
Mr Sabin said that with the right
recommendations implemented, he foresees
that New Zealand could get on top of its
methamphetamine problem “really quickly”.
He hopes that with it being election year,
parliament will seriously consider his
research for later implementation.
A full copy of ‘Solutions to the
methamphetamine crisis in New Zealand:
a study of demand and supply-side
interventions and their efficacy’ is available
from www.methcon.co.nz.
Who passed away…
KARAURIA-GIMPEL Erina Joanne
30-Apr-08
Spouse of member
Porirua
SCOTT Judith Kaye
20-May-08
Spouse of retired member
Christchurch
HALL Helen Connelly
20-May-08
Spouse of retired member
Auckland
MONAHAN John
21-May-08
Retired member
Ohaupo
Member
Wellington
REIHANA Charlotte Victoria
144
“There was really positive feedback, they
were really receptive to it. They thought it
was a really thorough document that alluded
to a number of the points that there had
been some struggles with,” he said.
9-Jun-08
RADFORD Raymond Eric
10-Jun-08
Retired member
Hamilton
MORRISSEY Roa
14-Jun-08
Retired member
Auckland
FITZGERALD Stephen
19-Jun-08
Member
Eastbourne
New Zealand Police Association
Pierce County, USA, blitzes meth epidemic
According to this story, which featured
in The Economist, a small P-ravaged
American community has managed
to come back from the brink of
devastation.
A few years ago Pierce County, in northwest
United States, was in the grip of a methamphetamine epidemic.
Toothless addicts roamed quiet rural roads,
stealing everything that was not nailed
down, as well as a few things (such as a
garage) that were.
The child of a meth cook fell into a bucket
of chemicals and was severely burned. Barb
Dolan, who set up a neighbourhood watch
group, knows of a cul-de-sac near her
bungalow where a sheriff’s deputy walked
into a methamphetamine laboratory and was
met with gunfire.
P-related offences decline
No longer. In 2001 no fewer than 589 P labs
and dumpsites were discovered in Pierce
County in Washington State. Last year it
was 76. Washington’s police stopped 39%
fewer meth-addled drivers in the first three
months of this year, compared with the
same period last year, and fewer addicts are
turning up in local hospitals. This is not just
a local trend: across America, workplace
drug tests suggest methamphetamine use
has been falling since 2005.
The methamphetamine story in Pierce
County has two acts.
The first, which began in the late 1990s and
ended last year, was largely domestic. Local
people made the drug by cooking anhydrous
ammonia, decongestant tablets and other
ingredients, using what is known as the
`Nazi method’. They sold it, mostly to other
locals, for up to US$70 ($NZ89) a gram.
Restrictions on pseudoephedrine
Gradually, tighter restrictions on cold
medicines shut down this trade. At which
point, as Paul Pastor, the county sheriff,
puts it, methamphetamine ceased to be a
cottage industry and became a professional
business.
In act two, nearly all meth is made in large
Mexican labs and smuggled up Interstate
5, which runs through Pierce County. The
imported product is crystaline, purer than
the local powder and more expensive:
between $US100 ($NZ130) and $US120
($NZ156) a gram, according to Dave Dewey,
a local drug cop.
For a while, it seemed as though crystal
meth would simply take the place of
powder meth, and use of the drug would
hold steady. That has not happened. Partly
because Mexico has begun to restrict sales
of decongestant and partly because demand
has dropped.
Teenagers lead trend
The decline is especially clear among
teenagers, who lead drug trends. According
to the University of Michigan, which
conducts a large survey, the proportion
of 18-year-olds who report using
methamphetamine in the past year has
fallen by almost two-thirds since 1999.
Their use of crystal meth, or ‘ice’, has
halved since peaking in 2002. The reason is
education; according to those who work with
school pupils.
The history of drug education programmes
in America is largely dismal. Prodded by
the Federal Government, teachers stress the
dangers of marijuana and lecture that crack
cocaine is highly addictive, which sounds
to some like a challenge. When it comes
to methamphetamine though, out come
pictures of ‘meth mouth’ - the rotten teeth
caused by heavy use. This message gets
teenagers.
Changing perceptions
According to the Michigan study, the share
of 18-year-olds who believe that using
crystal meth even once or twice carries
a great risk has risen every year since
2003. Unfortunately, perceptions of crack
cocaine appear to be moving in the opposite
direction. The proportion of 17 to 18-yearolds who believe regular crack use is very
risky has fallen from almost 90% in the early
1990s to just below 83%.
The shift from a cottage industry to a
well-run international business was good,
because it meant amateur meth cooks
were no longer setting fire to their children.
Moving people on to slightly less harmful
drugs is no bad thing, either. The irony is
that the methamphetamine experience in
Pierce County was so grim that some view
the rise of crack cocaine with relief.
The ‘before’ and ‘after’ faces of methamphetamine addiction
• THE FACE OF METH: These photos tell the tragic story of meth addiction. The photos are ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos of methamphetamine
addicts after a few years of addiction. The damage done by this horrendous drug is there for all to see – and the damage being done to every
strata of our society is as plain as the emaciation of these addicts’ faces.
- Photos courtesy of MethCon.
July 2008
145
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Penguin joins the
thin ‘blue’ line
Saving penguins is not in the police training manual, but
Porirua officers had an unexpected lesson when a disoriented
bird was found at 5.30 a.m. in Cannon’s Creek recently.
The Little Blue penguin was discovered at the side of the road
on Falcon Street - 2.5 kilometres from the nearest beach. The
family who found it tried to contact animal welfare agencies
but could not find one that was open. So they phoned
police, according to a report carried by The Dominion Post
newspaper.
The bird was taken to Porirua station, where it was given a
makeshift nest in a cardboard box and the Conservation
Department was called. With staff busy, the department
advised police to return the penguin to the sea. The intrepid
traveller was put back in a patrol car and driven to Titahi
Bay.
• Constable Kath Lees had her hands full looking after a lost Little
Blue penguin recently.
Back home
Surrounded by the smell of the salt and the sound of the waves,
the little bird perked up and Constable Kath Lees carried it to
the sea, where it began flapping its flippers and kicking its
feet, eager to escape.
The penguin plunged in and was bowled a couple of times
by the waves before making it to calmer waters and paddling
away. Heather Anderson, of Forest and Bird, said it was hard
to imagine a penguin walking 2.5 km inland. Little Blue
penguins went ashore to roost, but always stayed close to the
sea.
• GET ME OUTTA HERE: Constable Kath Lees releases a Little Blue
penguin, rescued from Cannon’s Creek, Wellington, back into the
sea at Titahi Bay. - Photos courtesy of the Dominion Post/Robert Kitchin
Canine hero dies
Retired Police dog Cane, hailed as a canine hero for capturing
a suspected burglar despite receiving multiple stab wounds,
died last month.
His owner, Sergeant Jason Owen, said he discovered Cane was
unwell one morning but he died before he could get him to
the vet. Cane was eight years old.
“He was my best mate and will be sorely missed,” Mr Owen
said.
Cane spent six years working for Police. Hecame to national
attention in July 2007 when he tracked an offender for 5km
through bush near Murupara, Bay of Plenty and continued to
hold onto him after being stabbed three times in the head and
body. Cane recovered well after the incident but was granted
an early retirement.
• BEST OF MATES: Cane and his handler Sergeant Jason Owen.
146
July 2008
Cane was hailed as one of the top Police dogs in the country,
when he and Mr Owen won the National Police Dog
Championships in 2005.
New Zealand Police Association
Pink vests set to turn “fame into shame”
Wellington’s Eastern Suburbs Community Constable, Theo
Gommans, has hit the headlines for his graffiti-busting
initiatives again. This time for making culprits wear pink vests
with ‘TAGGER’ on the back while they clean up their mess.
Mr Gommans, with support from the Wellington City Council,
introduced the bright pink vests to turn a tagger’s “fame into
shame”.
Consequences for tagging
He has started doing talks at high schools around Wellington,
which involve showing the pink vest to students to give them a
taste of what the consequences of tagging might be.
He said the reaction of students is usually “Oh bugger doing
that”. Some laugh, some applaud, but he can tell from the
looks on their faces that wearing a pink vest with ‘TAGGER’
written on the back is not something the students wish to ever
experience.
Mr Gommans said he would be disappointed if he caught a
student from one of the schools he has visited, tagging.
“If I catch them, it’s definitely el-pinko for them”, he said.
Mr Gommans’ new pink vest initiative is by no means a new
one. Similar initiatives have been adopted across New Zealand
and the world to deter youth offending, and have proved to be
very effective.
Pink unpopular with youths
There has only been a minor amount of criticism for his choice
of colour. But, he said, pink was simply chosen because it is
an unpopular colour with most youths. He could have just as
easily chosen a swampy green or bright purple.
Mr Gommans said he has received letters and phonecalls to
commend him on the initiative, and a radio station in Perth,
Australia had even interviewed him about it.
“It’s quite amazing the positive response we’ve had,” he told
Police News.”
Along with the pink vest initiative, a reward scheme implemented
by Mr Gommans and the Council, which offers students $100
to identify known taggers, has seen tagging drop by 20% in
the past few months. That’s an 80% decrease in tagging since
Mr Gommans started targeting graffiti vandals in the Eastern
Suburbs four years ago.
After the recent school holidays, there was virtually no graffiti
to be found – when the Eastern suburbs are normally rife with
it following the school break.
A change in legislation, which has banned the sale of spray cans
to under-18s and increased the penalty for tagging, has also
helped to deter taggers, he said.
• Wellington’s Eastern Suburbs Community Constable, Theo Gommans, and the Wellington City Council have introduced a new initiative that
will see taggers don a bright pink vest with ‘TAGGER’ printed on the back while they clean off their own and others’ graffiti. Mr Gommans
hopes the vest will turn tagging “fame into shame”.
- Photo courtesy of The Dominion Post.
July 2008
147
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Recruitment standards for historical EBA
charges “may” be relaxed in future
By Steve Plowman, Editor, Police News
While New Zealand Police is
still “considering” relaxing the
recruitment policy related to
historical drink driving offences
there is no plan to go the same way
as some Police departments in the
USA and extend that leniency to
those with historical minor drug
convictions.
Current policy precludes drink drivers
and those with drug convictions from
joining NZ Police.
Police have indicated there is to be a
partial softening of this approach to
allow people who have been acquitted
of drink driving charges to be “carefully
considered” on a case-by-case basis in
future. Most police officers spoken to by
Police News saw this as a commonsense
approach to recruiting in a tight job
market.
At some point in the future, NZ Police
have said they “may” relax the policy
to include those with historical ‘youth
drink driving’ convictions. A Police
spokesman said it was currently “under
consideration”.
Level of comfort
Police officers canvassed by Police
News were generally comfortable about
relaxing entry standards related to
prior drink driving convictions. There
was a little more reticence about minor
drug convictions. Most said they felt
the provisions of the Criminal Records
(Clean Slate) Act 2004, which allows
individuals with less serious convictions
who have been conviction-free for at least
seven years to have their records wiped
clean, could be a good guide for Police to
use if the policy was to change.
Where some officers baulked was to
do with offences for dishonesty. As one
officer put it: “Often, if you get someone
with a one-off disorderly behaviour
or fighting incident, I tend to think it
could be an indication of showing a bit
of spirit. Perhaps that shouldn’t be a bar
to entry but convictions for dishonesty
would ring alarm bells for me and I
would hope for the organisation,” he
said. “Behaviour-type stuff and let’s face
it; that’s what drink driving is, is a bit
different. When you think that we have
probably all done it, at some time in
148
July 2008
our past lives, and it was just a matter
of whether we got caught or not,” he
added.
Gravity of offence
Another officer felt that entry to the Police
for those with minor drug convictions or
EBA offences against their name should
depend “on the gravity of the offence.”
“If we are talking beyond the seven years
of the Clean Slate Bill then I wouldn’t
have a problem with it. Cannabis isn’t
the really big priority it once was and I
would think that most officers I know
would view it in that light too. None of
us would be getting too excited about
someone having a puff on a joint down
some alley, whereas dealing would be a
different matter,” he said.
The Police Association has, for some
time, been in discussions with the Police
over whether a drink driving conviction
off duty should cost an officer his or her
job. “What we’re talking here is a run-ofthe mill, no aggravating circumstances
EBA,” Association President, Greg
O’Connor said.
EBA and loss of job
This was one issue where the officers
surveyed by Police News were on
the same page. A Wellington officer
reflected the opinions of several spoken
to by Police News when he said: “I don’t
think people should lose their jobs for
blowing an evidential breath test (EBA)
marginally over the limit if judges and
lawyers and others don’t lose their jobs
for a drink driving conviction,” he said.
“Many of us have, at some time in our
lives, probably driven when we should
not have and, hopefully, we’ve learned
by that experience but you shouldn’t
lose your job over a drink driving
offence,” he added.
The Dallas Police Department recently
made changes to its hiring rules to relax
standards related to drug use.
The 3,180-member department, which
is on a major recruitment drive, is
competing in a very competitive job
market and they aren’t exactly lined up
around the block to join the Police.
Previously, some limited past marijuana
use was allowed but individuals who
had used drugs such as cocaine or
heroin, even once, could not be hired.
New policy in line with FBI
The new policy, which is similar to
the one used by the FBI, allows the
department to consider hiring applicants
who have used small amounts of such
drugs on an experimental basis in the
distant past.
However, some have voiced concerns,
similar to those raised in New Zealand
from time to time, that the move is
merely a lowering of hiring standards,
which will eventually be reflected out
on the street.
“We’re adapting to today’s society,” said
Deputy Chief Floyd Simpson in response
to such criticisms. Simpson is in charge
of recruiting. He said he believes the
department should consider people
who have used certain drugs on an
experimental basis, perhaps during their
college years, but have gone on to become
productive, law-abiding citizens.
“We think those people still have value,”
Chief Simpson said. “We think that they
ought to be able to apply.”
‘Clean slate’ applicants
Dallas’ problem of finding suitable ‘clean
slate’ applicants is all too common.
Especially with the drain on police
resources due to unrest in Iraq, where
many police personnel are serving with
the US Army.
NZ Police have found a yo-yo effect with
its 0800 “send information” inquiry
line over the last couple of years. Calls
peaked in July of last year at 900 calls
a month but by December this had
plummeted to 400. Figures have evened
out to average about 600 per month in
the interim.
There is no doubt that a relaxation of the
recruitment policy, to allow those with
historical ‘youth’ drink driving charges
behind them, could help the cause of
recruiting more police officers. Just how
many is a matter for conjecture. Every
bit helps on a thin frontline.
If those spoken to by Police News
are anything to go by, police officers
generally don’t seem too fazed by the
prospect. But they’d like to think the
same element of fairness when it comes
to EBA and keeping their own jobs
might also result in a rethink of policy
in that direction too.
New Zealand Police Association
The dangers of lowering recruiting standards come
home to roost for Los Angeles Police Department
The dangers of lowering recruitment
standards have been highlighted in a Los
Angeles Police Department case where
an applicant with previous convictions
was allowed to enter the Police Academy
and become a police officer.
The former LAPD officer, 35-year-old
William Ferguson, a father of three,
was sentenced recently to 102 years in
prison for his role in an armed robbery
ring which involved bogus drug raids,
according to a Los Angeles Times report.
The drug raids were staged to look like
legitimate police operations.
Before sentencing, Ferguson’s lawyer,
Philip Deitch, argued that the 112 years
being recommended by the probation
department amounted to “cruel and
unusual punishment”, and was wildly
disproportionate to the sentences of
Ferguson’s co-defendants, who had cooperated with prosecutors. The judge
settled on 102 years.
Ringleader
The admitted ringleader, former LAPD
officer, Ruben Palomares, received a
13-year sentence.
Ferguson’s refusal to testify against his
brother Joseph, a Long Beach police
officer, also implicated in the ring,
may have earned the judge’s ire at
sentencing.
His brother was sentenced to eight years
in federal prison.
Ferguson had five felony arrests for
burglary-and theft-related offences
before being hired by the Los Angeles
Police Department in 1996.
Recruitment
At one point, while trying to cite
mitigating factors that might persuade
the judge to impose a lesser sentence,
Ferguson’s lawyer said that these earlier
incidents were not “sufficiently serious”
to prevent him from being hired by the
LAPD.
The judge shot back: “To which I can
only say: ‘Why?’ “
The judge said he found it “stunning”
that a prospective police officer could
be hired with even one criminal
conviction.
When Ferguson was a rookie in
the LAPD’s Rampart Division, he
occasionally worked with Palomares.
$1 million ‘take’
The two later became friends and
Palomares recruited him to join a gang
of friends, family and police associates
he was assembling to rip off drug
Signs for all occasions
• In a podiatrist's office: "Time wounds all
heels."
• On a maternity room door: "Push. Push.
Push."
• On a septic tank truck: "Yesterday's meals
on wheels."
• At an optometrist's office: "If you don't see
what you're looking for, you've come to
the right place."
• On another septic tank truck: "We're #1 in
the #2 business."
• On a plumber's truck: "We repair what
your husband fixed."
• On another plumber's truck: "Don't sleep
with a drip. Call your plumber."
• On a church's billboard: "Seven days
without God makes one weak."
• On a plastic surgeon’s office: “Hello, can
we pick your nose?”
• At a towing company: "We don't charge
an arm and a leg. We want tows."
• On a taxidermist's window: "We really
know our stuff."
• On a fence: "Salesmen welcome! Dog
food is expensive!"
• At a car dealership: "The best way to get
back on your feet - miss a car payment."
• Outside a muffler shop: "No appointment
necessary. We hear you coming."
• In veterinarian's waiting room: "Be back in
five minutes. Sit! Stay!"
• On an electrician's truck: "Let us remove
your shorts."
• In a restaurant window: "Don't stand there
and be hungry. Come on in and get fed
up.”
• In a non-smoking area: "If we see smoke,
we will assume you are on fire and take
appropriate action."
• Sign at a radiator repair shop: "Best place
in town to take a leak."
dealers. The crew committed about
40 robberies, attempted robberies and
burglaries between 1999 and 2001,
netting about $1 million in drugs and
cash.
Ferguson and Palomares would wear
their LAPD uniforms and badges and
brandish weapons. They even stole
police cars from the Police Academy to
make them seem more legitimate while
conducting their bogus raids.
Victims were often handcuffed and
sometimes physically assaulted.
Nickname
At Ferguson’s trial earlier this year,
Palomares testified that his former
partner conducted such thorough
searches for drugs and money that he
used to call him “a bloodhound.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney, Douglas M.
Miller, one of the prosecutors on the
case, said he hoped that the severity
of the sentence would serve as a
deterrent.
“It should send a message to those police
officers, that would commit a crime
like this, that they will be punished
harshly,” he said. “And, hopefully, at
the same time, it will restore the public’s
confidence in its police force.”
GSF (cash) transfer
option ceases on
1 August 2008
The option of cash transfers for the
remaining Government Superannuation
Fund (GSF) Police Sub-Scheme
members who are under age 50 closes
on Friday, 1 August. Those that intend
to transfer must have all parts of the
election form, including the financial
adviser sign-off, in the hands of Payroll
staff at Police National headquarters
(PNHQ) by 5pm of that day.
Late or partially completed forms cannot
be accepted as the close-off date is set
in statute.
July 2008
149
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
AiPol’s contribution to the
modernisation of policing
The authors:
Commander Geoff Smith from Tasmania Police is a Foundational Fellow of
AiPol and currently sits on the Board as Treasurer of the Institute. He is a
1994 Churchill Fellowship and was the first seconded Visiting Police Fellow
to the Australian Institute of Police Management (AIPM) in Sydney. He is
currently a member of the AIPM Board of Studies. He was actively involved
with the Australasian Police Professional Standards Council as a steering
committee member and in 2007 he was awarded the Australian Police Medal.
He has a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Police Studies and is currently enrolled
in a Masters of Policing program through the University of Tasmania.
Inspector Ian Lanyon from Victoria Police is a Foundational Fellow of AiPol
and is also the Public Officer and Secretary of the Institute. Ian has served
in the Homicide, Armed Robbery, Arson, DNA and Drug Squads. He holds
a Bachelor of Laws, a Bachelor of Policing, a Graduate Certificate in Business
Leadership and is currently finishing off a Masters degree. He spent 15 months
in Antarctica as the Station Leader of Davis Station and until November
2007, Ian was the Executive Director of the Australasian Police Professional
Standards Council and is passionate about advancing the professionalisation
of policing.
Policing has experienced considerable
change over recent years generated by
complex social, economic and political
influences. There has been significant
change in science and technology, law,
values and standards, in knowledge and
understanding about the causes of crime
and social disorder. Importantly, this has
occurred against a backdrop of increased
community expectations of the Police.
The professionalisation of policing is
necessary to address these issues and the
establishment of a professional body for
policing is integral to this process.
AiPol is a non-industrial, not-forprofit incorporated association that
has been established by practitioners,
for practitioners to further the policing
profession. Importantly, it does not
represent
police
commissioners,
government or police unions. Neither
the commissioners nor the police unions
have designated membership positions or
places on the Management Committee or
Board.
The institute has been established with
objectives to:
• Promote the policing profession;
• Promote professional practice standards
within the policing profession;
• Endorse tertiary education related to
the policing profession;
• Certify individual police practitioners;
• Develop, promote and encourage
ethical policing practice;
• Facilitate the sharing of research
150
July 2008
and information as to best-practice
policing;
• Enhance public confidence in the
police profession and the service
provided to the public by members of
the profession; and
• Promote professional mobility of
police practitioners.
The concept of professionalisation is
usually associated with a high level
of education or skills and training;
commitment to the ideal of providing
a quality service; adherence to certain
standards of conduct; and a commitment
to update and improve skills and
knowledge. Though professional bodies
can be constituted in different ways, their
essential function is to act as a guardian
of professional standards. In fulfilling this
function, AiPol will pursue a range of
policies aimed at both maintaining and
enhancing standards in many areas of
policing practice.
Improving standards
While AiPol is clearly independent of the
Police Commissioners and police unions,
it recognises that working collaboratively
with the individual Commissioners,
the Australia and New Zealand Policing
Advisory Agency (ANZPAA) and industrial
bodies is important to protect and further
the professional aspirations of police.
AIPol intends to promote professional
issues with officers and Commissioners
and therefore positively influence policing
practice within various jurisdictions.
Special Offer
Six months free Home Insurance
Buying a new home or refinancing can be an
expensive process, especially with today’s interest
rates. To make it easier on Police Welfare Fund
members’ pockets, those drawing down a new
Police Home Loan, will be eligible for six months
free home insurance through the Welfare Fund’s
Police Fire & General Insurance*.
Members should contact our Member Services
Centre on 0800 500 122, with a copy of your loan
document from The National Bank.
New Police Home Loan
Package
The Police Home Loan package provides
attractive benefits to Police Welfare Fund
members and their immediate family, like:
• No Home Loan application fee
• 0.50% p.a. off the standard National Bank
Floating and Flexible Home Loan interest rates
• The lowest possible rate on fixed interest rate
loans without having to negotiate and regardless
of your loan size
• A contribution of $500 towards legal fees
• A small fee of $100 for a top-up on an existing
loan
• Discount on Low Equity Premium fees if your
loan is between 80% to 95% of the property
value.
Our Police Home Loan package is highly
competitive and flexible.
For more information or to apply for the Police
Home Loan package visit www.policeassn.org.nz,
call The National Bank lending specialists on
0800 800 808, email [email protected] or visit
any branch of The National Bank.
Protection to cover your
Home Loan repayments
The loss or critical illness of someone in the family
can impact dramatically on your ability to cover your
regular outgoings, mortgage payments and living
expenses. Police Welfare Fund Group Life and
Supplementary Life Insurance* policies provide
a very affordable solution for members to protect
themselves from financial hardship, should a death
or critical illness strike.
Call our Insurance Services team on 0800 500 122, or
email them at: [email protected]
The National Bank’s lending criteria, terms, conditions and fees apply.
For borrowing over 80% of a property’s value, a low equity premium on
a graduated scale will apply. Eligibility to apply for a Police Home Loan
package is at the discretion of the Police Welfare Fund Limited and
applicants must be current members of the Fund. This home loan offer is
not available for loans approved through a broker and details of the offer are
subject to change. For a copy of The National Bank Disclosure Statement
and full details (including terms and conditions) contact any branch of
The National Bank of New Zealand (part of ANZ National Bank Limited).
*The insurance options mentioned are subject to the standard underwriting
terms and conditions and are provided through the Police Welfare Fund not
by The National Bank. Members are eligible for one period of six months
free Police Fire & General Home Insurance premium only, per member,
regardless of the term of Police Home Loan taken. Police Fire & General
Insurance is underwritten by Lumley General Insurance (NZ) Limited.
The Police Welfare Fund Group Life and Supplementary Life insurance
is underwritten by AIG Life.
To find the full range of benefits
available to members visit
www.policeassn.org.nz
New Zealand Police Association
The ownership of a profession by its
members is the central concept of a
professional body. Chief Commissioner
of Victoria Police, Christine Nixon, in the
2002 John Barry Lecture at the University
of Melbourne stated:
Professionalism
“Taken seriously, as a new level of policing
capability, confident policing requires
nothing less than…the development
of new systems of occupational and
collegiate regulation using mechanisms
such as professional registration boards,
professional institutes, and colleges of
policing. This will provide our people
with full ownership and responsibility for
their professional standards of conduct
and compliance with them.” (Nixon
2002)
Professional bodies generally do not
involve themselves in industrial relations
issues. While there is often a fine line
between professional and industrial
issues, it is not envisaged that AiPol
will venture into domains already
adequately occupied by the Police
Federation of Australia, the New Zealand
Police Association and the respective
state and territory police unions.
On 25 July 2007, AiPol was registered
as an incorporated association under
the Victorian Incorporated Associations
Act. It is believed to be the first such
body for policing established anywhere
in the world.
Why join AiPol?
Membership of a professional body serves a
number of different and diverse purposes.
Apart from offering a focal point for
the profession that enables members to
advance mutual professional interests,
membership is also used by professions to
regulate and control professional practice
and domains. AiPol is to become the
professional voice of Australasian policing,
and will be promoting the profession to all
levels of government, industry, the media
and the community.
More information on the benefits of
joining and the fees are available by
clicking on the “Membership” link on the
AiPol website www.Aipol.org
The AiPol Board
The AiPol Board comprises of four
serving police officers drawn from New
South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria and
New Zealand. All Board members possess
a long history in the Australasian police
professionalisation movement.
Board members will be drawn from the
Management Committee and are to be
elected annually. Each police jurisdiction
is entitled to one elected representative on
the Management Committee and Board
members are elected from the Committee.
Elections are to be held by December this
year.
A call for members and co-ordinators
The success of AiPol is solely dependent
upon the participation by Australian and
New Zealand police officers. Building
upon the police body of knowledge is a
critical focus of AiPol and the Institute is
calling for experienced and committed
police officers who wish to join AiPol and
become responsible for co-ordinating or
assisting to co-ordinate one or more of the
following Communities of Practice:
• General policing;
• Leadership and management;
• Investigation (including drugs,
E-crime, arson, homicide, sex crimes,
and fraud);
• Traffic and road safety;
• Education and training;
• Recruitment;
• Intelligence;
• Marine, rescue and aviation;
• Forensics;
• Prosecutions;
• Women in policing;
• Families, children and young persons;
• International deployments;
• Policing policy;
• Disaster victim identification;
• Close personal protection;
• Bomb technician response; and
• Other areas of policing as identified or
requested by members;
Co-ordinators and assistant co-ordinators
will be responsible for promoting, directing
and facilitating discussion and research in
their particular area of speciality.
Community of Practice
Co-ordinators will seek papers from
other practitioners on important
and emerging issues relating to
their Community of Practice. When
publication is being considered in
respect to a member’s paper, the coordinator will be responsible for peer
review. If appropriate, AiPol will then
facilitate journal publication.
Application for membership is easily
made on-line by visiting the AiPol
website. Those members desiring to
undertake co-ordinators’ roles are
requested to forward an electronic
version of his or her resume to the
AiPol Secretary, Mr Ian Lanyon:
[email protected]
The resume should be forwarded after
your application for membership has
been approved. The resume should
include the following:
• The Community of Practice, which
you seek to co-ordinate;
• Evidence of formal training and
qualifications that are relevant to the
Community of Practice;
• Experience in respect to the relevant
Community of Practice; and
• The contact details of at least one
professional referee who can attest
to your high standard of relevant
practice.
1989 UNTAG (Namibia) reunion
All members of the 1989 United National
Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG)
contingent are invited to register their
interest in attending a proposed reunion of
the group over Queen’s Birthday weekend
next year.
It is proposed to have a 20-year reunion
over that weekend. Please contact Joe
Diamond on DDI (04) 9143638 or Email:
[email protected] to express
your interest in attending.
Appointment of Police chaplain
Pastor Michael Wise has been appointed
as Police chaplain in the Tasman District
(Greymouth).
He took up his appointment on 16 May.
“I don’t know the key to success,
but the key to failure is trying to
please everybody.”
– Bill Cosby.
“There was a time when we
expected nothing of our children
but obedience, as opposed to
the present, when we expect
everything of them but obedience.”
- Anatole Broyard.
“Political correctness is a doctrine,
fostered by a delusional, illogical
minority, and rabidly promoted
by an unscrupulous mainstream
media, which holds forth the
proposition that it is entirely
possible to pick up a turd by the
clean end.”
- Anonymous.
July 2008
151
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Calls of “Big Brother” as Met moves
to ‘microchip’ its police officers
Every single Metropolitan police officer
will be ‘microchipped’ so top brass
can monitor their movements on a
Big Brother-style tracking scheme,
according to Police Review magazine.
The plan, which affects all 31,000
serving officers in The Met, is set to
replace the unreliable Airwave radio
system currently used to help monitor
officer’s movements.
The new electronic tracking device,
called the Automated Personal Location
System (APLS), means that officers will
never be out of range of supervising
officers.
According to service providers Telent,
the new technology ‘will enable operators
in the police service’s operations centres
to identify the location of each police
officer at any time they are on duty.
Improved safety, quicker reaction
Although police chiefs say the new
technology is about ‘improving officer
safety’ and reacting to incidents more
quickly, many rank and file believe it is
just a Big Brother style system to keep
tabs on them and make sure they don’t
‘doze off on duty’.
Some officers are concerned that the
system - which will be able to pinpoint
any officer in The Met to within a few
feet of their location - will put a complete
end to community policing and leave
officers purely at the beck and call of
control room staff rather than reacting
to members of the public in the street.
we could apply the law and think for
ourselves, but if Sarge knows where we
are every second of the day it just makes
it difficult.”
Pete Smyth, chairman of The Met Police
Federation, said: “This could be very
good for officers’ safety but it could also
involve an element of Big Brother.
Largest of its kind
The system is one of the largest of its
kind in the world, according to Telent,
the company behind the technology.
Although neither The Met nor Telent
would provide Police Review with any
more information about exactly how the
system will work or what sort of devices
officers will wear.
“We need to look at it very carefully.”
Concerns for new system
Other officers, however, were more
scathing, saying the new system - set
to be implemented within the next few
weeks - will turn them into ‘Robocops’;
simply obeying instructions from above
rather than using their own judgement.
Forces currently have the facility to
track all their officers through global
positioning system (GPS) devices on
their Airwave radio headsets. However,
this is subject to headsets being up to
date and forces buying the back office
systems to accompany them, according
to Airwave.
One officer, working in Peckham,
South London, said: “They are keeping
the exact workings of the system very
hush-hush at the moment: although it
will be similar to the way criminals are
electronically tagged. There will not be
any choice about wearing one.
Steve Rands, health and safety head for
The Metropolitan Police Federation,
told Police Review: “This is so that we
know where officers are. Let us say that
when voice distortion or sound quality
over the radio is lost, if you cannot
hear that officer telling you where they
are, you can still pinpoint their exact
position by global positioning system.
If they need help but you cannot hear
them for whatever reason, APLS will say
where they are.”
“We depend on our own ability and
local knowledge to react to situations
accordingly.
“Obviously, we need the back up and
information from control, but a lot of
us feel that we will simply be used as
machines, or robots, to do what we are
told with little or no chance to put in
anything ourselves.”
He added: “Most of us joined up so
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Clues:
Across
1. Act of thuggery? (7)
5. Fresh (5)
8. Tartan cloth (5)
9. Royal name (7)
10. A type of detector (3)
11. An enlarging tool (9)
13. Bind by contract (6)
14. Shoddy behaviour (6)
16. Road accidents occur because of this (9)
17. Pen fill (3)
19. Impartial (7)
21. Cannabis weight (5)
22. To frame or to just prepare (3,2)
June answers:
Across:
1. Bond
3. Narcotic
9. Idiotic
10. Medal
11. Frenetically
152
July 2008
13. Nights
15. Adores
17. Bantamweight
20. Amino
21. Dresser
22. Parasite
23. Sync
Down:
1. Briefing
2. Naive
23. Slashes to pieces but still hounds (7)
Down
1. Dismay (5)
2. Kids gather treasure in this game (9,4)
3. In perfect condition (9)
4. Fee paid to recover car (6)
5. Swindle (3)
6. Influencing through teachings (13)
7. Act like (7)
12. Fake images (9)
13. Lengthens (7)
15. Someone’s wellbeing (6)
18. Leg joints (5)
20. Company agent (3)
4. Arctic
5. Commandeered
6. Toddler
7. Cull
8. Attestations
12. Esoteric
14. Glacier
16. Amidst
18. Gusty
19. Ramp
8
10
9
11
12
13
14
15
16
19
22
17
20
21
23
18
New Zealand Police Association
by Ricky Collins
The hitch-hikers’ guide to eating
out in Dunedin
Test rugby returns to Dunedin for the first
time in three years this month. If you’re one of
the thousands of All Blacks’ fans that will be
heading to our fair city for the weekend, you
might like a few tips on where to wine and dine
while you’re here.
Dunedin is one of the few main centres where many of the restaurants
still hold a BYO wine license. Along George Street there are many
ethnic BYO restaurants with in-expensive and interesting menus. In the
heart of this area lies Munslows Fine Wines, an independent specialist
wine store. The Manager, Mark Henderson, would be one of the most
knowledgeable and approachable wine retailers in the country. He
and his staff will certainly be able to recommend good wines to match
whatever style of cuisine you have in mind.
One of the better restaurants in the heart of Dunedin would be Cafe
Rue. The menu here is always inventive, filling and great value for
money. Cafe Rue is a fully licensed restaurant that opens for lunch
from Tuesday to Sunday, plus caters for evening dining from Thursday
July
August
to Saturday. Any restaurant that
serves Main Divide Riesling
by the glass gets my tick of
approval.
Just South of the Octagon you’ll
find Estrusco, Dunedin’s little
slice of Italy. Owner operator’s
Fred and Meegan Gianone serve
authentic Italian fare in a beautiful setting. Fred takes particular pride in
constructing his own wine list. On my last visit I tried the 2005 La Mora
Morellino Di Scansano, a fresh and crisp style of Sangiovese that went
very well with the wild boar pasta that Etrusco is well known for.
Brunch in Dunedin doesn’t get any better than Rhubarb Cafe in Roslyn
Village. Proprietors, Sam Kerr and his wife Helen use only the finest
produce and you can build your breakfast to suit. They serve great
coffee, and hold one of the sharpest collections of fine wines in town.
Over the hill in Kaikorai Valley, you’ll find Cableways Bar and Bistro,
owned and run by ex-Detective Sergeant Murray Galland and his
brother-in-law, Dave Lamont. Choose a wine from the bottle store to
match good honest pub fare, or try the 2006 Boxhead Shiraz for $6
a glass at the bar.
On the waterfront, you’ll find Plato Restaurant, an extremely popular
eating spot with a superb selection of seafood. Their food is always
stunning and they maintain a very good wine list. Two wines that stand
out for me on their current list are the Mark Bredif Vouvray and the
2006 Pisa Ranges Pinot Noir.
If you are visiting soon, enjoy your stay in Dunedin and be sure to
check out at least one or two of these eateries.
September
WAIHEKE ISLAND ........................... 24,30-31 .......................................................7,17-21,25-28.........................................................1-4,21-24
PAIHIA............................................ 22-23,27-28,30-31 .......................................3-7,11-15,17-28,31 ................................................1-7,12-18,21-26
STANMORE BAY ............................. 9,20-24,27-31 ...............................................1-31 ........................................................................1-30
AUCKLAND .................................... 23 ..................................................................5,10-11,24,27,29-30...............................................7-10,14-18,23-25
WHANGAMATA ............................... 13,15,21-24,28-31 ........................................1-14,18-28,31.........................................................1-4,7-11,14-23,28-30
MT MAUNGANUI ............................ 6,20-24,28-30 ...............................................3-7,11-13,17-22,24-29,31......................................1-6,10,13-17,22-26
OHOPE........................................... 7,11,19-25,27-29 ..........................................3-14,17-31..............................................................1-26,29
ROTORUA ...................................... 20-24,27-31 ..................................................3-7,10-14,17-21,24-27,31......................................1-11,15-19,21,24-26
TAUPO ........................................... 21-22,............................................................3-6,10,18,25-29......................................................3-5,11,16-23,25
TURANGI ........................................ 19-25 ............................................................30-31 ......................................................................1-5,20-26
NAPIER .......................................... 13,20-24,27-31 .............................................3-7,10-15,17-21,24-29,31......................................1-2,7-11,14-18,21-26
PARAPARAUMU .............................. 6,15,30 ..........................................................21-31 ......................................................................1-5,8-11,14-21
GREYTOWN.................................... 8,20-24,27-31 ...............................................1,3-7,11-14,17-22,24-28,31...................................1-4,7-11,14-18,21-25
WELLINGTON ................................. 28 ..................................................................3,11,19,25-26,31 ....................................................10-11,14-15,18,21-26
NELSON......................................... 10,20-24,28-31 .............................................1-7,10,15-24,28-29,31 ...........................................1-9,11-18,21-25
HANMER SPRINGS ......................... 13-16,............................................................12,31.......................................................................1,7,17
CHRISTCHURCH ............................. 13,20,22,29-30 .............................................6-12,14,19,24,26-27...............................................16-18,21-25
TEKAPO ......................................... 20-25 ............................................................16-22,30-31............................................................1-12,20-26
WANAKA ........................................ 22 ..................................................................Fully booked ............................................................20-26
CROMWELL ................................... 19-25 ............................................................2-15,30-31..............................................................1-26
QUEENSTOWN ............................... Fully booked ..................................................9-15 ........................................................................Fully booked
TE ANAU ........................................ 7,13-31 .........................................................1-7,10-27................................................................1-13,17,19,23,28-29
DUNEDIN ....................................... 17,23-244,27,30-31 ......................................3,5-7,10-14,16-22,24,27-29,31..............................1-12,15-20,24,30
To make a booking - Call one of our Customer Services representatives on 0800-500-122 or Ext 4446 or log on at www.policeassn.org.nz and use your Member ID
and Login to make your own booking
July 2008
153
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Police Association
AGMs in progress
Throughout June and July the district and area
committees of the Police Association hold their
Annual General Meetings. These meetings
are open to all members and are attended by
the President or other senior staff from the
Association’s National Office. New committees
are elected and briefings provided on topical
issues. This year’s meetings coincide with the
pay round so it’s your chance to hear from
those who are in the thick of the negotiations.
For meeting schedules go to www.policeassn.
org.nz Proposed rule changes on pay round
voting will also be presented. These will allow
for proxy votes in certain circumstances, secret
ballot voting and an increase in the ratification
threshold from 50% to 60%.
If you’re interested in helping your colleagues,
developing the profession or improving
the pay and conditions of your work then
consider a year’s service on an Association
committee. It will give you another insight
into the Association and NZ Police. There are
a number of challenging issues at present
and on the horizon and for the Association to
best represent members’ interests it needs
a positive mix of active involvement from the
newest employees as well as those who have
been around a while.
Te Kuiti Police reunion
A reunion for past and present serving members
of police and support staff in the Te Kuiti Police
sub area, which covers Otorohanga, Benneydale,
Piopio and Te Kuiti, is being planned for Friday,
31 October and Saturday, 1 November 2008.
To obtain an ‘expression of interest’ form, which
covers all of the details of the planned event
please Email [email protected],
phone Te Kuiti Police Station (07) 878 1450, or
Fax (07) 878 1451.
We would love to hear from all serving or exmembers that have served in this area during
their police career.
Christmas holiday
home ballot
As in previous years, a ballot will take place for
the holiday homes over Christmas-New Year, due
to the huge demand for the homes during this
period.
Every serving sworn and non-sworn member of
the Police Welfare Fund will be sent an Email to his
or her Police Email address. The Email will contain
a link to apply on-line.
The ballot runs from 27 December 2008 until
30 January 2009. Entries are limited to one per
member. Ballots are for seven nights and apply to
all holiday home units.
All entries must be received no later that 11 August
2008 and winners of the ballot will be notified by
the end of that week. If you require any further
information please contact the Member Services
Centre on 0800 500 122 or extn 44446.
154
July 2008
Safety footwear trial
Police are trialling different types of safety
footwear from September 2008 to January
2009.
The purpose of the trial is to determine which
type of safety footwear is best suited to the
operational environment.
While it is positive that Police have made
some progress, and a trial should ensure that
the best footwear is identified, the Association
has advised Police that it does not think that a
roll-out of safety footwear to operational staff
should be unreasonably delayed.
We consider that any further delay would
be subjecting our members to further
unnecessary exposure to health and safety
hazards, which could be avoided or minimised
by appropriate safety footwear.
The Association will be actively monitoring
the trial and subsequent progress.
NI Lawn Bowls Champs
in Taupo in November
The NZ Police Association North Island Lawn
Bowls 2008 Championships are to be held
again in Taupo on Wednesday, 5th and
Thursday, 6th November 2008.
The championships are limited to 14 teams
of four, playing under the “Classic” format.
Teams must consist of at least two current or
retired sworn or non-sworn male or female
police members affiliated to a bowling club.
Entries are on a first-in first-served basis as
only two greens are available. Book early for
accommodation at the Police Association
holiday homes.
To register or for more info contact: Andy
Campbell on (07) 377-9336 extension
74336 or by Emailing:
[email protected]
New Zealand Police Association
Mountain Bike & Road Cycling Champs
28 & 29 October 2008, Auckland
ENTRY FORM
Surname _______________________ First name _________________________
Postal address _____________________________________________________
Home station ____________________ City/town ___________________________
Work phone ________________ DDI _____________ Cell ___________________
Email address ______________________________________________________
I am a (select ONE group)
Police employee
Non-Police employee (Please enter connection/association________________)
I wish to enter the following category1 (tick one category only)
Open men (up to 35 yrs)
Open women (up to 35 yrs)
Vet 1 men (35 - 44 yrs)
Veteran women (35 yrs & over)
Vet 2 men (45 yrs & over)
Recreational (men and women)
I am a Police Council of Sport Member (PCOS)
Entry fees:
PCOS members:
$10 per event, $30 maximum for all events.
Non-PCOS members: $15 per event, $45 maximum for all events.
Road hill climb
$_______________
Road race
$_______________
MTB cross-country
$_______________
Downhill
$_______________
TOTAL
$_______________
Please complete the details and mail entry form2 together with your cheque3 to:
Senior Constable Richie Williams, P.O. Box 21-162, Henderson, Auckland.
1. Organisers reserve the right to combine categories that have insufficient entries.
2. Entries close Friday, 19 October. Late entries received after this date will be accepted at the
discretion of The Organising Committee.
3. Cheques to be made out to: “NZ Police Association and Council of Sport Mountain Bike & Road
Cycling Champs”.
New Zealand Police Association
Official Entry Form
N.Z Police Association
South Island Police Golf Championships 2008
Hosted by West Coast Police Golf Club
Ashburton Golf Club, Ashburton
2nd, 3rd, 4th November 2008
Name: ………………………………………………………………………….
Address: ……………………………………………………………………….
City: …………………………………………………………………………….
Home Station: …………………………………………………………………
Sworn Member/Non Sworn Member/Retired Member/Other: ……………………………..
Contact No’s: PHH: …………………… PHB: ………………
Cell: ………………….
Email Address: …………………………………………………………………………………….
Slope Handicap ID No: …………………..Council Sport Member: Yes
No
Number of attendances at South Island Police Championships: ………
Entry Fee of $125.00 enclosed: Yes/No
(Please make cheque out to “West Coast Police Golf Club” Send to: Darcy Lucas P.O. Box 17, Hokitika) Email: [email protected]
Conditions of Entry:
West Coast Police Golf Club reserves the right to a ccept entries. Entries will be balloted with
priority given to members who are eligible for cham pionship trophies & or regular participants
in these championships. Strictly limited to 120 ent ries.
Closing date for entries is 1st September 2008 .
I hereby agree to abide by the rules of the event as set by the West Coast Police Golf Club,
Ashburton Golf Club Local Rules & the R & A Rules of Golf.
Signed: ………………………………….
Full details available at
WWW.COPPERSGOLF.CO.NZ
Distracted jury
members
puzzle judge
A drugs conspiracy trial lasting
more than three months and costing
Australian taxpayers more than A$1
million (NZ$1.27 million) has been
aborted after jurors were found to
have spent up to half the time doing
Sudoku puzzles.
Sydney District Court judge Peter
Zahra cancelled the trial of two men
after the jury foreperson admitted
that four or five jurors had been
playing the addictive game. The
judge was alerted after jurors were
observed writing notes vertically,
rather than horizontally.
The puzzle involves completing
grids of numbers in games graded
easy to diabolical. One juror said
it helped them to pay attention,
keeping their minds busy. A new
trial, with a new jury, is expected in
a few weeks.
- Courtesy of Reuters
The Official Web Site of Canterbury Police Golf Club
Making the
most of your
hard work.
Ever wish there was someone who could step into your world,
take your whole financial reality and organise it to your best
advantage to fast track your goals? Goals like home ownership,
buying a new boat or investing for retirement?
Are you wanting to better manage your cash resource and
put it to work more effectively, looking to identify the best
savings or investment strategy to meet your objectives, to
borrow funds for a residential or commercial property, to fund
a business? Do you need help to identify how your insurance
protection fits with your overall financial set-up, are your
family and your assets adequately protected? - effective
structures help you take control of your financial future and
can deliver a greater sense of financial security.
Call the Police Financial Planning Enquiry Line 0800 ON BEAT
(0800 662 328) to meet with one of our expert financial
advisers in a complimentary no-obligation consultation about
long-term financial planning or for specific advice on cash
management, investment strategies, debt (mortgages and
other loans), insurance protection, tax, financial structures,
estate planning, specialist advice on your GSF and PSS
membership and other benefits.
July 2008
155
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
This column is written by a frontline
police officer. It does not represent the
views or policies of the Police Association.
NEW RETAILER
Police Association
Member Discounts Programme
EYEPRO – Eye care and eye wear providers
Letters to Mr Ed
Wow, weren’t there some punchy letters to the Editor in the last mag!
A clear sign that finances are hurting up and down God’s Own. I sure
have some sympathy, as you will see from a few of my last columns.
A decent percentage-rise from our own Broad Sword and signed
off by Aunty Helen and Uncle Michael, would be a good start. Then
our newest and bestest uncle John could come in with those soooo
overdue tax cuts!
Hopefully, our boss was whispering sweet pay rises in the Minister’s
ear during their latest trip to Europe!
Oh and Uncle John, for Christmas can I please have a few more
‘frontline’ blue uniforms for the street and watch-house rather than
all these fancy community groups and the ultimate flying squad (aka
OFCANZ) who have had their share of the apple pie?
It isn’t easy
It sure can’t be that easy being a jury member these days with so much
information to hear and churn through before making a commonsense
decision on someone’s innocence or guilt. I even heard a few of them
lawyers’ lot saying the ‘not guilty’ verdict is not one of innocence but
just that they couldn’t be satisfied about the level of evidence to return
a guilty verdict. One for the books. I never thought I’d never hear from
the opposition. But never a truer word was spoken.
I also gotta say, whilst we continue to use an adversarial system rather
than an inquisitorial one, we will always have decisions that don’t go
our way. In a developed society like ours, you would have thought it
was about the truth not the fight between counsels. How naive am I?
My thoughts go out to the victims’ families and also those hard working
investigation teams in Auckland, Christchurch and the Bay! Don’t take
it personally guys and girls. By all accounts you did a fine job in hellish
circumstances.
$50 off combined frame and lens
purchases when you spend $250
or more on new eyewear* at your
nearest EYEPRO practice.
* Excludes eye examination & contact lenses.
Not available in conjunction with any other offer.
what you can save
The NZ Police Association and EYEPRO
are pleased to make NZ Police Association
members and their families this great offer.
To find out more about this discount and others
through the Member Discount Programme
go online to the ‘Members Only’ section of our
website www.policeassn.org.nz. Sign-on then
click on “Member Discounts” in the
menu on the left-hand side
to view all the discounts available.
A storm brewing
Me sources tell me that there may be a storm or two brewing with
certain politics being played north of the Bombay Hills and near the
Cake Tin in respect to the top jobs for the CIB. I’m told that cronyism
may be alive and well but that playing such a game with the Top Feds
is like playing Russian Roulette. These guys were born to investigate
all things and they aren’t gonna just accept their fate.
Thank goodness our HR system is so robust that it will sort out any
unfairness - anyone want to add the Tui words?
Up hill
Well Mr Henry and Co, you certainly have an uphill battle in respect
to public opinion and, believe me, we in blue know that it counts and
you cannot ignore the populous! Well done on your first efforts but the
test is the Southern Hemisphere teams and that will always be the
case. That lot from the ‘northern lands’ is only there for practice! Go
the ABs!
See Ya!
156
July 2008
Earn AA Rewards Points at your
local EYEPRO practice 1 Point
per complete $10 spend
Police Association Conference in
Wellington from 29-31 October
This year’s NZ Police Association Conference will be held from the
29-31 October at the James Cook Hotel, Wellington.
The Police and Families Credit Union AGM and the Police Welfare
Fund will hold their respective AGMs on 29 October at the same
venue.
The NZ Police Association will also be hosting the ICPRA
Conference at the Copthorne Hotel from the 19-21 October.
New Zealand Police Association
Write it here! Letters to the Editor are welcome.
Signed letters are preferred, but in all cases the writer’s name and address must be supplied. Names will be published unless there is a good
reason for anonymity. The editor reserves the right to edit, abridge or decline letters without explanation. Email to: [email protected] or
write it to the Editor at PO Box 12344, Wellington. Letters under 400 words are preferred.
Pathetic offer
It is no wonder that we all dread pay rounds
when the Police are out to drive us into
submission with their pathetic offer to staff who
are the backbone of this organisation.
Their 3.5% pay offer is disgusting and a
complete insult.
The request for 5% from the Association is only
marginally better.
I would’ve thought that we’d need to get a
substantial increase (15% over two years) in our
base pay to retain staff in the first instance and
to attract new staff to the organisation.
The insult from the Police to take a reduction in
our total remuneration for a reduction in TOIL
(time off in lieu) is ridiculous.
Please fight for the staff who work tirelessly out
on the street, dealing with all aspects of policing,
locking up violent and aggressive offenders in
the face of mounting abuse and criticism from
the media and all the others who wish to jump
on the band wagon.
As a side note, I wait with bated breath for the
Police Commissioner’s verdict on Tasers, which
he seems reluctant to make a decision on in the
current political climate while his staff continue
to be assaulted in the course of their duties.
Bryce Allison
(Tokoroa)
Time to value your staff
I wanted to add my two cents worth to the pay
discussion.
Firstly. I would like to thank the guys doing the
negotiations - I’m sure it’s a thankless task.
Every time pay negotiations come around,
I struggle not to sink into despair when it
becomes so obvious how little the management
of this organisation value their staff.
How can they offer us 3.5% in the current
environment? Teachers and nurses have had
substantial pay rises while we have “lost” a
week’s leave and our superannuation is now
looking pretty ordinary.
Assaults on police are up, we are getting
criticised left, right and centre and more
and more demands are placed upon us for
professionalism.
I really am totally fed up with the police
management going on about how good we
have it, professionalism, integrity, blah blah
blah. Why do they bother with staff satisfaction
surveys when they seem to take no notice of
the findings?
Julian Real
(Dunedin)
Monetary pressures
With an already stretched and frazzled
frontline this offer will go down like a lead
balloon. There is not going to be an offer that
will counteract the monetary pressures we are
all facing. The department negotiators surely
must have some insight into the financial
pressure we have all been under in the last six
months.
I was hopeful we might go for more than 5%. I
heard a comment the other day from a member
of long service who voiced concern that with
the monetary pressure it will only be a matter
of time before temptation and monetary
pressure will land some of our people in front
of the courts.
Can you get their negotiators to remove their
head from the sand and read the news or even
watch the news? If they can’t do that then get a
mining company to dig down to the level they
are at and deliver the news.
Keep those (department) guys honest.
the police have to then enforce them (an alleged
conflict of interest) is clap trap.
The object of this proposed Bill is one of the
biggest insults ever directed at the NZ Police. It
is but another example of inept legislation being
considered and passed, in recent times. I am full
of suspicion as to the motives here. Is this just
another personal vendetta? The election to a local
body now involves the question of remunerative
secondary employment. This discussion should
be kept in context. The Commissioner of Police
is well capable of exercising discretion in such
elementary matters.
Fred Jansen
(Dunedin)
Des Crowe
(Christchurch)
Police and local body elections
GSF – what’s good for the
goose is good for the gander
In 1971, a Timaru businessman approached me
to stand for the Timaru City Council. I declined.
Relevant to that decision was my belief that there
were statutory bars to my standing for election,
namely the Police Act and the Electoral Act.
In 1974, I was shown a legal opinion from
the Crown Law Office, which suggested that a
serving police officer could not stand for a local
body election if that local body was comprised
of political parties. The opinion held that this
was still the case even if an officer stood as an
independent where political allegiances existed
(among the elected members).
The Police Act was also said to refer to those
authorities, boards and/or organisations to
which a serving police officer may serve. In
particular, it identified those not permitted as
contained in a schedule to the Act (but no such
schedule existed).
The legal opinion also offered:
• That engagement on a council as an
elected member could not be considered as
remunerative secondary employment; and
• That the Timaru City Council consists
of independent councilors, as councilors
stood for general council not for wards or
communities and therefore the prohibition
under the Electoral Act did not apply.
So there was no legal reason for me not to
stand.
So, in 1974, I stood and was elected. This
was done following encouragement from the
Commissioner of Police. Recently, there has
been comment that police should be barred
from standing for local councils. It is plainly
stupid to suggest that such a police officer
would be compromised and there would be a
conflict of interest.
I have been elected several times since and
served as Deputy Mayor from 1977-83. In the
20 years I spent in Timaru, I was elected to many
community organisations. In all that time in my
primary position as senior sergeant at Timaru
Police Station, not once was I compromised.
Upon his retirement, the then Commissioner
of Police, Sir Angus Sharp, wrote me a
letter of appreciation for my ‘public-spirited
endeavours’.
The argument that councils pass bylaws and
Regarding the GSF issue of staying in the Police
after an officer has retired.
I can’t believe this issue is as hard to solve as
made out in Charlie Busby’s letter (Police News,
June issue).
Just a few pages back in the same issue of
Police News we read about retired judges going
back on their payroll (while still on GSF) as
they have done for years without any apparent
honesty conflicts.
If it’s good enough for a High Court Judge to
receive their own money back from GSF and
be paid for continuing work, then why not a
police officer who is in the same scheme?
If some sort of stalemate has been reached
between Mr Busby and the Police Association,
then why not move the whole issue before the
High Court in the form of a judicial review?
I am intrigued that these rules of “primary
career finishing” and “returning to a similar
role” have suddenly appeared for us. What
self-anointed moral guardian thought up that
rubbish?
Whatever happened to: “Can I have my money
back now please and continue working?” Like
I mentioned earlier: It works for the Judges.
John Hamilton
(Rangiora)
Time to lead by example
re the Code of Conduct
It is little wonder that members are reluctant
to sign up to the Code of Conduct when the
Commissioner repeatedly fails to meet the
one page of obligations he sets for himself.
I offer two situations by way of example:
Firstly, the ongoing withholding of
employee pay without any verbal or written
notice. This is a clear and continuing breach
of employment law. “The Commissioner
has a legal binding duty to act as a good
employer”. This action is a clear breach
of his self-imposed obligation to “meet
all legal requirements as an employer”. It
runs perilously close to serious misconduct,
in that it is in effect “removing or taking
possession of another employee’s property
without their permission”.
July 2008
157
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Secondly, attempts to deny employees
their rightful remuneration entitlements
under the Collective contract. An example
of this is applicants who are told that they
are the preferred applicant to the vacancy,
but then the HR manager attempts to have
them negotiate away their transfer expenses
to secure the position. The code obliges him
to “to deal with employees in good faith” and
“offer rates of remuneration in accordance
with Police policies”.
I call on the Commissioner to show leadership
by example and stand by his Statement of
Obligation by “applying the code in a fair,
reasonable and objective manner”.
If he moves to meet his stated obligations to
the Code there is a chance that his staff will
not only engage with the Code but also with
the organisation, which recent surveys clearly
indicate they are not.
“JLO”
(Auckland)
The men and women
who ‘look after us’
I heard recently through the media that a
worrying percentage of you are not happy in
your jobs, so I thought it was time I put my
thoughts on paper.
I’m sure I speak for very many New Zealanders
when I say how grateful we are to you for
keeping us safe in our homes and on the
streets at considerable personal sacrifice to
your own lives.
Your jobs must be very difficult, made more so
by undeserved public criticism. Where would
we be without you?
Each time I see on TV or read of yet another
arrest or fracas etc, I say a fervent prayer of
thanks for the men and women who look
after us, so hard these days in our increasingly
violent society.
Take heart. You are greatly appreciated.
Dot Parsons
(Invercargill)
It never fails to amaze me.....
I have been in the Police for 11 years and have
been directly involved in several pursuits.
I am aware (as every other frontline officer
is) of the risks and thoughts that go through
your mind once a decision has been made to
commence a pursuit.
I am also tragically aware of those pursuits
which end in death or injury, whether that
of the offender, passengers or innocent
bystanders.
It is incredibly frustrating knowing that all
pursuits start with just one simple action - the
action of failing to stop!
It is also incredibly frustrating knowing that,
once the offender is caught, the charge of
‘failing to stop’ is a mere fine only, and is usually
the first charge to be withdrawn, dismissed or
convicted and discharged.
When are the lawmakers and politicians going
to realise this, instead of the public outcry
about Police attempting to carry out their job
and protect the public?
Isn’t it about time that the strength of the legal
system changed the penalty for ‘failing to stop’
to one of imprisonment? This action has the
potential to injure, maim and kill, no less than
those who drink and drive.
Putting the emphasis of a serious period of
imprisonment behind this offence will act as
a deterrent to those who are not going to stop
158
July 2008
for police, and, if not a deterrent, will give
police officers (and public) some satisfaction
in knowing that the threat to public safety has
been removed from the roads.
We (as an organisation, both judicial and
enforcement) need to make a stand, and say
to the politicians: “Make a law change and
strengthen the law for this offence”.
Tim Rowe
(Hastings)
Taking ourselves too seriously?
I write with regards to the recent article
published in the Dominion Post titled, “Police
spoof Email earns suspension” - 3rd May 2008 www.stuff.co.nz
In the days prior to this article being published
I had heard but not given much weight to the
rumours around work that those in charge
had adopted a holier than thou approach to
humour.
Now having read the article in The Dominion
Post, which posted the ‘offensive’ Email in full
in a national newspaper, I struggle to see or find
the offensive nature of it.
The national press have in my opinion, mocked
the Police administration for their heavy- handed
approach to this humorous publication.
The Lady Bird easy reading book titled ‘The
Policeman’ is now listed in the Police National
Headquarters Index Librorum Prohibitorum.
The Index Librorum Prohibitorum (“List
of Prohibited Books”) was a list of publications
prohibited by the Roman Catholic Church. The
avowed aim of the list was to protect the faith and
morals of the faithful by preventing the reading of
immoral books or works containing theological
errors. (wikipedia.org).
Email and the Internet are simply our modern
day equivalent to the written word. One man’s
book is another man’s Email.
So I remain confused at the objective of this
suspension.
Is the act of suspending one of our own simply
a clever ploy to protect the faith and morals
of Police staff nationwide and thus bolster the
morale and stem the tide of those who are
actively disengaged, or yet another CV building
exercise?
Tim Traviss
(Auckland)
Decent wage increase
remains the core issue
I totally support the comments from Greg
Stone and Gregg Mapp in the May issue of
Police News.
Stop mucking around with the extras in our
wage round and focus on a decent basic wage
increase for everybody - not just an inflation
adjustment as has happened in the past.
In the May issue, the Association commented
that inflation was at 3.4% and rising and that
our claim may have to be reviewed. Inflation is
well above this as this figure does not include
rising petrol and mortgage costs, and we know
how much these are hurting all of us. The
media recently stated that food costs rose 28%
in 12 months from last April. We would need
a 7% wage rise just to cover this cost alone.
Maybe the junior doctor’s claim is not so way
out after all.
In relation to time off in lieu (TOIL) - this rule
should have been disposed of in the mid- 90’s
when we went to total remuneration, but
because the department believed we were still
overpaid it was retained. There is absolutely
no valid reason that this rule should be in
place, other than that any alternative for the
department is unpalatable. Members deserve
to be paid or compensated in full for any
overtime worked and unpaid overtime must
be stopped.
Come on Association you need to move
forward on behalf of your membership - don’t
just tread water.
G Tullock
(Taupo)
Reassurance from
Professional Investigators
Recent Sunday newspaper publicity (Herald on
Sunday, 18 May) may have caused members
of the Police to think that licensed private
investigators were anxious to obtain powers
of arrest.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The power to arrest is one of the most
coercive powers that the state can give to an
individual, and the NZ Institute of Professional
Investigators, Inc. (NZIPI), on behalf of its
members, wishes to make it very clear that
no such power is sought by the Institute,
nor its members, and we note that the media
comments came from an investigator who is
not a member of the NZIPI. Whilst Institute
members frequently investigate crimes and
offences for commercial clients and almost
always report such matters to the Police for
eventual prosecution; we believe we can
adequately fulfill our roles as private-sector
investigators without any special powers of
arrest being granted to us.
I hope this letter “sets the record straight”.
Trevor Morley
(President of the NZ Institute of Professional
Investigators, Inc).
A policy that is in need of change
While working recently in the International
Arrivals Hall at Christchurch Airport, my
colleague got talking to a NZ Customs Service
officer. He had been into the recruiting office
on two occasions over recent years with a view
to joining the Police. He works in a secure area
staffed by vetted-people.
He is over six feet tall with an athletic build
and would have a lot of potential. However,
16 years ago, when aged 19, he incurred a
conviction for drink-driving. The recruiting
officer advised him that the NZ Police did
not recognise the Clean Slate legislation and
that because of this historic conviction his
application would not proceed.
It is my understanding that we now recruit
people with historic dishonesty and assault
(even perhaps assault on police) convictions.
Well, I know whom I’d prefer to work with.
With a tight labour market is it not timely to
review this policy concerning drink-driving
convictions? We are missing out on good staff
because of this policy. With a policy like this,
who would want to work for them anyway?
John Fittock
(Christchurch)
Picking up the pieces of
poor primary education
I write in support of Keith Olsen, (Letters to
the Editor, May issue). I applied to join the
NZ Police in late 1973. Sergeant Mike Ryan
was the recruiter at that time. I was 34 years
olds, had left school at 15 and did not have
School Certificate. Four of us, as applicants,
attended at the old Petone Police station, and
New Zealand Police Association
were given, as I recall, the Otis-Lennon School
Ability Test (OLSAT). The test was made up
of a number of questions over a limited time
with the emphasis on general knowledge and
commonsense-type questions.
We were then given a number of phrases from
which we had to make up sentences. One of
the applicants was told to “go away, and when
you can read/write English, come back and reapply”.
How come nowadays the applicants can pass
this initial test and have to be re-educated
when they get to the Police College?
In nearly 20 years service, I was continually
surprised when I read job sheets, reports etc
from supposedly university-educated members
that contained glaring spelling and grammatical
errors or errors with punctuation.
Who is to blame? I suspect that the primary
education system is at fault here, as pupils are
now promoted to the next class up as a matter
of social expediency, without having to qualify
educationally for the next step.
However, this does not mean that the Police
Service should have to pick up the pieces. If
applicants do not pass the required educational
standards, they should be told to go away until
they attain them.
Geoff Benge
(Otaki)
A very long time between drinks
It has been a long time between drinks.
In the early 1960s 1 was a young, inexperienced
recent arrival in Hamilton, fresh from 18
months cadet training under the tuition of a
very stern, Senior Sergeant George Claridge.
Shortly after my Hamilton arrival I became
involved with what in modern day terms
would be called a ‘boy racer’ incident.
Much to my embarrassment this ‘boy racer’
turned out to be an old school friend and street
playmate from my old hometown.
Here was my old mate, Rollie, well tanked
up on the popular booze of the day - maybe
DB Brown, Bass or even that horrible Lucky
Ale - coming under my notice and that of my
accompanying sergeant - from memory the
late Bill Gordon (one of the finest leaders I ever
had the privilege to work with).
The sergeant quickly became aware of my
obvious embarrassment but fortunately in
those days sergeants were prepared and able
to use innovative ideas, commonsense and
discretion in dealing with any situation.
With the teachings of George Claridge and
the words of the oath – “without fear or
favour, malice or ill will” - passing through
my inexperienced brain, some quick
decisions were made with the blessing and
acceptance of the sergeant.
A “walk and warning” was decided on.
I cannot recall exactly how this was
implemented but usually it resulted in the
misguided youth’s car being immobilized by
deflating all four tyres and the driver being
immobilized by removing his footwear.
Being left carless, barefoot and a long way
from home usually helped a wayward one
see the error of his ways.
My mate Rollie drifted on as I did - the
sanctions of 1960 obviously helped him
because I did not see his particulars appearing
in the Gazette, court reports or wanted lists –
and he went his way as I did mine.
To my surprise, and pleasure I did not see
or hear from Rollie until a few weeks back
when he was passing through Hamilton and
made contact with me – yes, only 48 years
later - wanting to pass on his thanks to me
for the manner we dealt with him all those
years ago. He showed his appreciation by
dropping in for a chat and presenting me
with a box of Waikato Stubbies.
It sure has been a long time between drinks
but it does go to show that the manner in
which police members deal with the public
can have a long-lasting effect.
He also tells me that he has dined out on this
story many, many times in the ensuing years.
Roy Aberhart
(Hamilton)
Police Health Plan
and staff lifesavers
I wish to convey my special thanks and
gratitude to management and staff of the Police
Health Plan.
I was unfortunate to be diagnosed with
primary prostate cancer and secondly with
kidney cancer, and for the past two and a half
years, have had to call on financial assistance
- close to $95,000 (my estimate) for surgery,
specialist treatment, prescriptions etc.
Many of my verbal requests were at very short
notice by necessity.
On every occasion, I received fast service from
very helpful and obliging people who not only
went out of their way to assist but also made
me feel special. I cannot praise the staff and
system enough.
As if the above wasn’t enough, in April I was
suddenly “hit” with angina despite having no
previous heart problems. Within 24 hours of
seeing my GP I received your written approval
for an angiogram and angioplasty.
I eventually had to undergo full bypass surgery.
Thanks to you all, I am well on the way to
recovery. I estimate the total cost of treatment
would be around $138,000.
I doubt I would be alive if it weren’t for you.
Ian Beattie
(Porirua)
Policing Bill no longer a risk to
facilitate a civilianised Police
May I take this opportunity to update
members on the refinements to the Policing
Bill made during the select committee phase
of the Bill’s consideration (as reported in the
June Police News).
Members will know the Association expressed
a desire for there to be a more transparent
process to underpin any future changes to
the Policing Act, which might add or delete
powers assigned to ‘authorised officers’ (the
new category of staff to perform roles such as
jailers, prisoner escorts or premises guard).
The select committee has heeded that call,
and the Bill now contains a robust process,
which would require any such changes to
be passed as legislation in a set time-period
before being confirmed.
The Policing Bill has received a number
of useful refinements, including other
clarifications submitted on by the Association,
e.g., further strengthening the separation of
Police from political direction of any Minister
of the Crown or any person acting on the
instruction of a Minister of the Crown.
The revised version of the Bill can be
downloaded from the parliamentary website
at www.parliament.nz or if already enacted,
from the online statutes on the Intranet.
Hamish McCardle
(Police Act Review)
Useful Information & Contacts
Police Network
44446
Freephone
0800 500 122
Police Health Plan/Police Fire and General Insurance
(on matters that cannot be deferred such as Police
Quotes & information
0800 500 122
shootings, fatal pursuits or deaths in custody)
or Fax
(04) 496 6819
ring 0800 TEN NINE (0800 836 6463)
Police Fire and General Insurance claims 0800 110 088
– 24 hour/seven days service
All enquiries
(04) 496 6800
New Zealand Police Association:
For immediate industrial & legal advice
Vice Presidents
www.policeassn.org.nz
0800 800 808
0800 429 000
www.policecu.org.nz
0800 654 731
0800 777 243
Regional Directors
Stuart Mills
Chris Cahill
(027) 268 9416
(027) 268 9411
Field Officers
Auckland District:
Waitemata and Northland Districts:
Waikato, BOP and Eastern Districts:
Central and Wellington Districts:
Tasman and Canterbury Districts:
Southern District
Website
Police Home Loans
Police Credit Union
or (04) 472 9645
Credit Union
GSF information
PSS information
Stewart Mills
Steve Hawkins
Graeme McKay
JJ Taylor
Dave McKirdy
Dave Steel
(027) 268 9407
(027) 268 9406
(027) 268 9408
(027) 268 9409
(027) 268 9410
(027) 268 9427
Region One
Region Two
Region Three
Region Four
Region Five
Region Six
Region Seven
Jug Price
Dave Pizzini
Mel Ridley
Luke Shadbolt
Ron Lek
Craig Prior
Tracey Maclennan
Orewa
Counties-Manukau
Tauranga
Hastings
Wellington
Sydenham
Invercargill
(027) 268 9419
(027) 493 0524
(027) 268 9414
(027) 478 9001
(027) 268 9417
(027) 268 9412
(027) 268 9418
July 2008
159
POLICE WELFARE FUND
HOLIDAY HOMES
PAIHIA
WAIHEKE ISLAND
STANMORE BAY
AUCKLAND
WHANGAMATA
MT MAUNGANUI
OHOPE
ROTORUA
TAUPO
TURANGI
NAPIER
PARAPARAUMU
GREYTOWN
NELSON
WELLINGTON
HANMER SPRINGS
CHRISTCHURCH
QUEENSTOWN
TE ANAU
TEKAPO
WANAKA
CROMWELL
DUNEDIN
Take a well-deserved break
Check out our Holiday Homes:
• Only $50 a night, they are excellent value for quality family-sized accommodation.
• Fully equipped with TV, cooking and washing facilities – all you have to bring is
your linen and food.
• Located in some of the top holiday spots in New Zealand, they are certainly
worth a look.
To secure your booking visit our “Members only” website
on www.policeassn.org.nz or call our Customer Service
centre toll free on 0800 500 122