The Voice of Police
VOLUME 39 • NUMBER 3 • APRIL 2006
What Canada can teach us
about the gang problem
POLICE PAY ROUND - 2006
Q TOUGH JOB – FAIR PAY
Q THE POLICE OFFICER’S LOT
Q THE PRIORITY ISSUES
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
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
April 2006, Vol. 39, No.3
ISSN 1175-9445
63
Deadline for next issue Tuesday, April 18, 2006.
A CELEBRATION OF POLICING
Published by the New Zealand Police Association
P.O. Box 12344, Willbank House, 57 Willis Street, Wgtn.
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
66
“THREE PEOPLE CAN KEEP A SECRET IF TWO ARE DEAD”
From the President
Pay round 2006; Tough jog – fair pay
55
56/60
Government to redraft outdated Police Act
61
How your annual leave entitlement works
62
View from the Bottom (I Am Keen)
63
Dave Bowman “blown away” by support
64
Health Watch
65
Gangs – the lessons Canada can teach
The changing face of NZ gangs
66/68
69
Taking the crim’s assets – the Criminal Proceeds and Instruments Bill 70
Gang members/associates outnumber police by nearly nine-to-one 71/72
74
Copper’s crossword
72
Hells Angels declared a criminal organisation
73
Sports News
“AFTER YOU HIT THE WATER – START SWIMMING”
Front page: Recent gang confrontations have again brought
a focus on the problems gangs present to society. New
Zealand, like Canada, disbanded some gang intelligence
units several years ago. In Canada it resulted in all-out
gang warfare. Then Canadian law enforcement agencies
took a different and more successful approach and NZ is
beginning to show signs of following suit.
- Photos courtesy of Police NBCI.
54
April 2006
74/75
Keen on wine
76
Preparing for the good life (Spicers wealth management)
76
Age of criminal responsibility to be debated
77
Holiday home availability
77
Letters to the Editor
Holidays Act variations
find favour with 96%
of Association members
78/80
Ne w Zealand Police Association
for the changes arising from the introduction
of a new Police Act.
“The best recruiters will be existing police and
if we believe we are well paid and fairly treated,
they will recommend the job to family and
friends.”
Police Act rewrite will be
watched with interest
The announcement of a Police Act rewrite
last month is something members should
be watching with great interest. The Police
Act is our cornerstone document, governing
our very existence.
The sort of ‘blank paper’ rewrite being
contemplated has the potential to change
much about the way we are employed,
paid, and governed.
The positive is that it is being done by Police
and not by other government departments,
unlike the 2001 Police Amendment Bill, which
is fortunately now consigned to the legislative
dustbin - where it always belonged.
However, we should not be complacent
about the fact that Police are designing the
new act. Police is a political football, and
everyone has an opinion on how we should
be policing. We can never forget that we are
first and foremost, the coercive arm of the
state. Core business seemed to be forgotten
when education and health reform was
undertaken. We all saw what happened to
education and health when the bureaucrats
and politicians started meddling.
Given these concerns, we must acknowledge
that policing has and will continue to evolve
and the legislation must reflect that. The
Association will closely monitor, advise and
most importantly, reality check the rewrite.
Like all change, the likelihood of successful
implementation is greatly enhanced if, to use a
farming analogy, the beast (that is Police) is in
improving condition. A good frost will knock
a poorly conditioned animal around whereas
one on the improve will survive a blizzard.
This year’s pay round is a good opportunity
to improve the condition of Police. The
knocks of the last couple of years, with
the Commission of Inquiry, Operation
Insight, and the Comms debacle have left
us reeling.
We now have a new Minister and shortly
a new Commissioner and a new Act. What
better way to put the past 10 years of
turmoil behind us than a good pay round
settlement, which not only acknowledges
our success in reducing crime and the road
toll during that period, but also prepares us
We need to recruit 2,500 new sworn police
over the next three years to replace the
1500 per year we lose and of course, to fill
the 1000 new positions. The best recruiters
will be existing police and if we believe we
are well paid and fairly treated, they will
recommend the job to family and friends.
This could be a very good time for Police
if the right decisions are made in the next
few months. We need be able to get on with
the business of looking after the public in
the knowledge that those looking after the
back room are making well-informed
and relevant decisions designed
to achieve that.
The Police Act
rewrite must
be an agenda
free zone.
If the cap fits
This letter, written by Hillmorton resident D
McMahon, recently appeared in The Press
newspaper in Christchurch. We thought
readers might enjoy the aptness of the
sentiments expressed on behalf of a victim
of crime.
Sunday afternoon, nice day for a walk. Great day
for you low-life to break the lock on Grandad’s car
door and pinch Nana’s knitting bag.
In the bag you’ll find a partly knitted beanie for
Nana’s yet-to-be-born grandchild. It should fit
your brainless head perfectly.
Caption contest
Try your hand at writing a caption for the photo above, taken recently during the celebration of 120 years of policing
in New Zealand, and if your entry is judged the best then you’ll win a free night’s accommodation in a Police Welfare
Fund holiday home. Entries close on Monday, April 17 and can be Emailed to the Editor at [email protected]
or by sending your entry to “Caption Competition” c/- The Editor, Police News, P.O. Box 12344, Wellington.
April 2006
55
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Police pay round begins:
- Photo courtesy of the NZ Herald.
Tough job – fair pay
After three years absence, pay negotiations are back on the table and will be the dominant focus for the
NZ Police Association over the next three months.
There are clear pressures that have emerged within Police that must
be addressed in this pay round. It will require the Government to gain
a solid understanding of those pressures and a willingness to tackle
them head-on. All too often governments have tended to allocate pay
round funds prior to gaining a thorough understanding of the policing
environment. What tends to happen then is a Pontius Pilate type
approach where the government of the day washes its hands of any
further responsibility, leaving it to Police management to make the
outcome fit a predetermined budget.
Policing is a tough job that requires fair pay.
No right to strike
The Police Act bars police officers from undertaking any form of
industrial action, which would involve the full or partial withdrawl
of labour. The absence of this right has been an ongoing bone of
contention with many members who see it as a barrier to a serious
engagement with government in addressing key pay concerns.
The Police Association is hopeful that this government and Minister
of Police, Annette King, will take an ongoing and active interest in the
issues and outcomes of this pay round.
Negotiations on the sworn and non-sworn collective agreements
commenced on 4,5 and 6 April. The first days are generally focused
on identifying issues of interest to the parties, sharing information that
will improve everyone’s understanding of those issues and discussing
56
April 2006
their implications. The Police Association has a list of about 30 issues,
which members have consistently brought to its attention over the past
three years. Some are of a higher priority and will dominate proceedings
whereas others could be described as “house keeping” changes.
Major issues
Within those 30 issues there are six ‘big ticket’ items, for which
members have demanded action. Obviously an across the board salary
increase of substance is one of them. Substantial increases in the
standby allowance and the increase paid upon promotion are other key
issues. A CIB rescue package is needed and the one time payment of
Competency Service Increments (CSIs), to those at the top of their pay
bands, needs to be reintroduced. Issues relating to the structure of the
pay bands, including the TOIL (Time Off In Lieu) rule and overtime round
off these issues.
Members have strongly signalled their wish for shorter-term collective
agreements – i.e. with a maximum of two years.
Further negotiation periods are scheduled for 27, 28 April, 9-11May
and 23-25 May. In between these dates a significant amount of work is
undertaken by both parties in analysing and considering options which,
in our case, will involve seeking feedback from our sworn and nonsworn consultative committee members. These members play a key role
in guiding and advising the negotiating team by providing feedback from
the wider membership.
Ne w Zealand Police Association
Negotiating team
Brian (Skin) Frances - Christchurch
Sue Nixon – Henderson
The core negotiating team, which includes
a combination of Police Association
specialists and consultative committee
members, is:
Detective Sergeant Paul Merrett
– Christchurch
Detective Chris Moore - Wellington
Constable Jared Cuff – Henderson
Janet McColl – Invercargill
Denise Tizard – Auckland City
Detective Rick Rudolph – Tokoroa
Greg O’Connor – President
Detective Paul Davison – Hawera
Chris Pentecost – National Secretary
Other members of the Association’s sworn
and non-sworn consultative committees
are:
Leeann Peden – Industrial Officer
Chris Turner – Wellington
Detective Sergeant Peter Jones – CountiesManukau
Sergeant Grant Gerken – Invercargill
Greg Fleming – Advocate
Cheree Rastovich – Hamilton
Gail Cato – Wanganui
Negotiations are conducted with the
assistance of a mediator and in the presence
of an arbitrator who will only be called into
action to decide matters if the parties reach a
deadlock.
Holidays Act variations ratified
The Holidays Act was amended from 1 April 2004 to ensure that
anyone who works on a public holiday is entitled to a minimum
rate of time and a half.
The Association sought to have this loading paid to members but
Police declined, taking the view the existing comprehensive salary
paid to members of Police already included a loading for public
holidays.
The matter went to the Employment Court in September 2005,
culminating in a ruling (covering sworn members only) in our
favour.
However, as the court had indicated, there was already some
provision in the comprehensive salary for working on public
holidays and some further negotiation was required to establish
the appropriate figure on which a half time additional loading was
to be based. While the specific decision of the court applied to
sworn members only, it did provide sufficient direction to be able
to conclude a basis of payment of the loading for members covered
by the non-sworn and Bands 1 and 2 collective agreements.
Three variations
The three variations provide for the payment of a loading at a half
time extra for all time worked on a public holiday, calculated from
the greater of either:
• 88% of the member’s comprehensive salary or;
• 88% of the member’s gross taxable earnings for the previous 12
months.
A total of 92 separate ratification meetings were held at 73
different locations, including one meeting in the Solomon Islands.
At these meetings members overwhelmingly (96%) supported the
variations.
The variations were effective from 1 April 2004. To avoid the
administrative burden of making retrospective calculations,
the loadings for all public holidays worked from that date until
30 April 2006 will be based on the greater of an individual’s
comprehensive salary or 12 months gross taxable earnings as at
1 May 2006. Police are hoping the back pay to affected members
will be paid in June, and members will receive a schedule outlining
the back pay basis.
Members who left Police after 1 April 2004 and believe they have
a back pay entitlement should write to Police at:
Attn: Payroll – Holidays Act Payment
Office of the Commissioner
PO Box 3017
Wellington
• “I don’t know about you cobber, but this is thirsty work”…two police dogs take a well-earned rest from the recent celebrations in
Wellington to mark the 50th anniversary of the Police Dog Section.
- Photo courtesy of Wgtn Police Forensic Photography.
April 2006
57
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
“When constabulary duty’s to be done, the policeman’s lot is not a happy one.”
- Sir W. S. Gilbert (1836-1911).
Yes, the police officer’s job offers variety but not the kind that most people would enjoy or endure.
There are, of course, the horrific road accidents to deal with – scraping bodies out of wrecks is
not for the faint hearted. To the public at large the road statistics mean little – unless of course the
knock is at your door.
Then there’s the gut wrenching - quite literally - episodes in every police officer’s life (usually
endured as a young constable) of having to recover a decomposing body. The smell of death is not
easily washed away and the psychological effect can endure and interrupt one’s sleep when least
expected. These things are not spoken about in polite company. Police officers often keep their
own counsel.
There are an abundance of violent offenders, mental health patients, drunks, the drug-crazed,
demonstrators who bait you and spit in your face – the domestics that you know in the back of
your mind can get you killed – as it has colleagues in the not-too-distant past. There are the gang
members, the time wasters with their nuisance phone calls, burglars, rapists, child abusers – you
name it – the police officer has to deal with them all – fairly and squarely, so Joe and Jill Public
can sleep safe in their beds at night.
The politicians make the laws. The public expects them to be upheld. And the man or woman
doing just that, at the often-dirty coalface of justice, is the police officer.
In 2006, what value will the government place on that?
58
April 2006
Ne w Zealand Police Association
The police officer’s life
The physical emotional and psychological
stresses of being a police officer are well
documented, even if people outside the
policing environment often underestimate
the effect of this stress.
What is less understood is the impact of
the scrutiny that police officers face, both in
their professional and private lives.
The actions of police oficers are subject to
scrutiny; this is a necessary safeguard on
the body that acts as the coercive arm of
the state. That scrutiny takes many forms
and can result in a police officer being
challenged in the following forums:
• defended hearing or trial in a criminal
court;
• Coronial inquest;
• private criminal prosecution;
• civil suit;
• criminal complaint to Police;
• disciplinary complaint directly through the
officer’s Police District;
• complaint to the Police Complaints
Authority;
• Ministerial complaint; and
• complaint to the current Commission of
Inquiry into Police Conduct.
While some of these forums are available to
receive complaints for other professions, the
nature of policing means that police officers
are both more vulnerable to complaints
being made about them and are more likely
to be adversely affected by the complaint
process. History also shows that they are
more likely to be the subject of vexacious
complaints too.
Why is it that police officers face these sorts
of stresses in an already stressful working
environment? Here are some of the factors
involved:
1. Police officers are easily identifiable:
There is a requirement for police officers
to identify themselves to those that they
deal with both operationally (identification
to exercise statutory powers) and in the
judicial process. Police officers remain
in the community that they work in and
cannot refuse to deal with people or
situations that may place them or their
families at personal risk (except in very
extreme circumstances). In any smaller
town, almost every resident knows the
police officers’ names. Even in larger
towns and cities the reality is that no
police officer is anonymous.
2. Policing involves confrontations: While
this may appear obvious it is worth further
consideration. While police officers are
entitled to exercise force on others in
the execution of their duty, it’s misuse
amounts to a criminal offence. This means
that any complaint about an officer’s
actions is, in actual fact, a criminal
complaint. This is the way that it is
handled by the Police, placing significant
stress on the officer involved, regardless
of the validity of the complaint. It should
also be remembered that the incidents
and issues that Police deal with are
highly charged – the old saying is worth
remembering: “No one calls the Police
because they’re having a good day.”
3. Police officers deal with people
that no one else wants to: Police
officers routinely deal with criminals
and psychiatrically disturbed people that
are deemed too difficult or dangerous
for anyone else to deal with. That is
an everyday fact for all police officers.
Unfortunately, the people officers deal
with remember this long after the
officer’s day’s work is done. Threats to
police officers and their families are not
uncommon, neither is the deliberate
misuse of the complaint system by
individuals in an effort to place pressure
on officers.
How far will people go? The Commission
of Inquiry into Police Conduct has heard
complaints going back up to 25 years
from complainants that have been
convicted of making false complaints
against Police.
4. Policing makes the headlines: The
subject matter of policing means that
crime and the people linked to it are
constantly in the news. That is to be
expected – it sells newspapers and keeps
television and radio stations in business.
However, the tag “police officer” or even
“former police officer” appears to promote
any story far further than the same story
in relation to Joe or Jill Public.This is
a reflection of the importance society
places on the position, but it also gives an
indication of the pressure that is applied
to individual officers.
5. Police officers are never ‘off duty’:
Police officers are sworn into their role,
which means that they have an obligation
to respond to incidents that they see, even
when they are off duty – whether this be
on leave, with their family or when they’re
returning home from an extended period
of duty. Members of Police understand
this, although they believe that the impact
of it is significantly undervalued. For
instance, an officer who has just finished
duty may go home but be on standby for
the next 15 hours, for which he or she
is paid a standby allowance of between
$8 and $10. The officer may be called
back to duty any time during that period
– which excludes the officer from having
a social drink with family or friends and
often has a significant restriction and
impact on an officer’s private life and that
of their family. The fact that officers are
never off duty also affords members of the
public the opportunity to make complaints
about the private lives of police officers.
6. Police officers have less protection
than any other civil servant: Despite
police officers having the most
confrontational and dangerous job in
the public service - they have the least
protection. Not only are they open to the
complaints listed above but can also be
individually sued by any member of the
public as a result of incidents that arise
during the execution of those duties. If
this occurs police officers are the only
public servant who will not be issued an
indemnity by the Crown (the provision that
protects all other public servants is found
in the State Sector Act – this provision
is specifically excluded from applying to
members of Police in the Police Act).
Found in Tekapo
holiday home
A diamond and sapphire gold ring has
been found by a member while using the
Tekapo holiday home in March.
If this ring belongs to you contact Hornby
Police on 3441 800.
April 2006
59
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
The Police pay round 2006
The priority issues
1. Salary adjustment
This will be a matter for discussion during the
course of negotiations, clearly there is a need for
an adjustment that addresses a number of serious
issues facing Police as an employer and individual
members of Police.
The NZ Police have been under significant pressure
over the past three years due to staffing shortages
and intense political, public and media scrutiny. The
result is a Police service that is experiencing immense
accountability and pressure, individually and as
an organisation. Public credibility, as measured in
various surveys, has fallen dramatically. Repairing
the damage is a top priority for everyone from the
Prime Minister to the newest constable.
Pay will feature as a key factor in the rebuilding
process. One thousand extra police over three years,
plus another 1500 to cater for natural attrition, will
severely test the relative attractiveness of policing as
a career. The extra police are absolutely necessary
but the risk is that if the pay package is not attractive
enough then the quality of applicants will be reduced.
The future supervisors and leaders of the NZ Police
are sourced from within the recruits. Recruits who
are not suitability equipped (skills and attributes)
or screened (reputation) are a dormant risk to the
organisation’s performance and reputation.
The Police Association remains concerned about
the lack of thought or research that has gone into
the targeting of teenagers as recruits. Already 28%
of the original trainees (18 to 21-year-olds) that
graduated in December 2003 have left Police. This
is nearly three times higher than the attrition rate for
the three recruit wings that preceded them.
The retention of existing police is vital as a bridge
to ensuring that new graduates cope and have
experienced support in the future. By 2009 around
35% of Police will have been recruited in the preceding
three and a half years. In a policing environment this
represents a huge organisational and operational risk
if it is not properly managed. “Buying in” policing
experience through overseas recruiting has limitations.
At some stage, the salaries on offer to New Zealanders
must be competitive to ensure Police attract the best
candidates, and not just those who are suitable
and meet the recruiters’ standards. In times of low
unemployment, the Police, as a cornerstone arm of
a democratic society, must stand out as a rewarding
option both professionally and financially.
Our current collective agreements provided for a
final general adjustment of 2.5% in July last year at
a time when newly settled collectives were achieving
close to 5% on an annual basis. This more recent
higher level of settlement reflected the buoyant
economic conditions New Zealand experienced for
a much longer than anticipated period. Conditions
have eased somewhat but not to the extent that the
need to address this anomaly is negated.
60
April 2006
2. One-time CSI payments at the
top of bands
The non-payment of a Competency Service Increment
(CSI) as a one time payment once a member is at the
top of a band is now affecting a larger number of
sworn and non-sworn members. In 2003 it affected
only a couple of hundred members, however, there
are now 1200 members currently at the top and
another 800 within one or two steps of it.
Sworn members, who are still required to obtain
competency levels (SSTT, PCT and first aid) should
be in receipt of these payments to recognise this and
maintain consistency with the approach subsequently
taken in the Band One and Two Collective, where
one-time payments are provided for.
3. Standby rates
Standby rates remain inadequate and in no way
reflect the imposition they place on members and
their families. The restrictions in terms of lifestyle,
socialising and travel need to be more appropriately
compensated. The current 15-hour overnight rate
equates to an hourly rate of 51 cents before tax or
around 2% of the cost (based on a $50,000 salary)
of having someone work the period involved. For the
employer to be able to save 98% of what it would
cost to have someone working by utilizing standby
is far from equitable. The compensation rate has
to move to a more realistic figure so as to address
this anomaly, fairly compensate members and act
as a suitable deterrent to managers unnecessarily
placing members on standby.
An indicator of the value/imposition of standby is
best illustrated by section 59 of the Holidays Act,
which provides for an alternative day of leave for a
day of standby on a public holiday. While obviously
not advocating for this to apply on other days, it
does highlight the need to treat standby on days
other than public holidays more fairly within the
Police context.
4. Salary structure
• dispense with TOIL rule and move toward
earn-as-you-work overtime and penal time;
• reduce the number of steps in scales; and
• realign bottom of Band G.
The Police Association and Police have increasingly
acknowledged that the comprehensive approach to
Police remuneration is under pressure and cannot
be sustained in the medium to long term. Greater
attention has focused on this in the wake of the
half-time extra payments arising from the Holidays
Act amendment.
The collective sharing of overtime, penal loadings
and shift allowances is becoming increasingly
dated. Individuals are seeking immediate and
personal reward for overtime or shifts worked.
Members are also comparing their earnings to
outside occupations. In particular, there has
been a notable shift in the pay of skilled public
service occupations with the teaching and nursing
professions now very much in the playing field
as far as remuneration and career options are
concerned.
We are now of the firm view that Police remuneration
structures need to reflect those of virtually all other
overseas police jurisdictions.
The TOIL rule is a legacy of a past environment
and we now need to adopt an “earn- as-you-work”
approach. This will also provide government with a
clear picture of the cost of homicides and special
operations on the Police budget. With the injection
of extra staff and the gradual reduction in overtime
worked (as per official Police records) the Police are
well placed to drop the TOIL rule and begin moving
towards a paid overtime regime.
A comparison of police salaries with those now
received by nurses illustrates a massive slip in the
value attached to the constable’s position. A nurse will
soon earn a basic salary of $40,000 in the first year.
Normal shift work loadings boost that figure to around
$50,000. Overtime is additional. By comparison, a
first year constable’s Total Remuneration (TR), which
includes salary, shift, penal and overtime (up to six
hours per week) loading and superannuation subsidy
totals $48,224.
A fifth year nurse will earn a basic salary of
$54,000 plus at least a $2,500 (and up to $4,000)
professional development allowance, which is added
to the base salary and attracts overtime and penal
rates. Consequently a fifth year nurse working shifts
but no overtime could earn up to $70,000. The fifth
year TR step for a constable is $52,901 and the top
of Band G, achievable only after 20 years is $71,609
– neither compare particularly favourably.
Superannuation in Police serves an important role
as a deterrent to officers remaining in service longer
than they physically or mentally should or succumbing
to the temptations of graft and corruption.
Superannuation plays a key role within Police and
should be seen as distinct when comparisons with
other occupations are made.
The number of steps in the current pay scales
is a regular source of friction and unnecessary
comparison between members. With 21 steps
(17 for bands H, I and J) anomalies, actual and
perceived, linger due to the number of years it takes
for members to move to the top. This severely tests
members’ sense of fairness and equity. A reduction
in the number of steps will be sought.
The bottom of Band G doesn’t reflect the nature
and demands of a constable’s duty. In undervaluing
the pay of a constable we are undervaluing the
work they perform. This artificial situation is best
illustrated by the non-sworn member who can be
paid $4,700 more at the bottom of their band G and
be compensated for overtime on an hour-for-hour
basis.
Ne w Zealand Police Association
5. Increase on promotion
The minimum increase on promotion of between 4%
and 6% is failing to recognise the value of higher
duties and responsibilities associated with promotion
and immediately performed by members. There is
clear evidence, especially in the main centres, that
members are shunning promotion to sergeant and
senior sergeant positions. In Auckland, sergeant
vacancies, which have been opened up to unqualified
applicants, and other positions are failing to attract
suitable applicants.
The recent Field Training Officer (FTO) variation
reflected an attempt by management to fix one
“promotion” problem. However, it was ill-advised
and too narrow in focus. It has simply created a
raft of additional inequities that will remain as a
constant source of irritation to members as the pay
increase does not compensate for the additional
responsibilities and stress involved.
Detectives will be lured back to section prior to
promotion; Constables promoted to other sergeant
positions, with just as much interaction with
probationary constables (such as Prosecutions), are
disadvantaged; members moving off section to gain
broader experience prior to promotion miss out.
The increase on promotion needs to have a noticeable
impact on a member’s after- tax income. A 10 %
minimum increase would more accurately reflect the
current pay differential between the bands.
By way of contrast, under the Nurses’ Collective, they
are entitled to a higher duties payment equivalent to
$5,590 p.a.
6. CIB rescue package
• increase the incentive payments made to Detective
Constables during their two years of training;
• increase CIB practitioners’ allowance and
introduce a rule whereby members who leave
the CIB retain payment of the practitioners’
allowance for a period equivalent to their qualified
CIB service. If qualified CIB service is five or more
years then the practitioners’ allowance becomes
a permanent allowance, irrespective of where
their future service is;
• introduce a senior detective designation at five
years of qualified service as a detective;
• formalise the CIB qualifications in the shape of a
Diploma in Criminal Investigations;
• introduce 10 hour shifts for CIB response units
(Crime Squads or CIB staff attending jobs and
working rosters); and
• increase the study days for prerequisite exam
and modules.
The CIB needs to remain a viable and rewarding
career option for constables. It is a key breeding
ground for future leaders within Police but one, which
is experiencing difficulty in convincing members that
it is worth them making the effort to join.
Changes are required to both the working
environment and compensation regime.
The CIB needs to remain attractive to all members,
especially those who seek a healthy work-life balance.
Skills acquired and honed during a member’s CIB
career are invaluable to the wider organisation after
detectives move on. Greater recognition of this widely
acknowledged fact is now required.
Government to redraft outdated Police Act;
Police Amendment Bill (No.2) abandoned
By Steve Plowman, Editor, Police News
It’s taken more than four years but finally the
government has listened to a long-term Police
Association plea to abandon the contentious
Police Amendment Bill (No. 2).
Police Minister, Annette King, recently
announced that the Bill would be abandoned
in favour of “a comprehensive overhaul” of
the outdated Police Act (1958).
Police Association President, Greg O’Connor,
welcomed the review, saying: “This is a victory
for common sense. What is important in this
process, at the end of the day, is that policing
employment operates in a modern and fair
framework and that the redrafted legislation
protects police staff from political interference.
That has not been the case in some overseas
jurisdictions and that was the concern many
had about the Police Amendment Bill No 2.”
“If this is the sort of pragmatic decision we
can come to expect of our new Minister then
things bode well for policing as we move
into a new era, especially with a pay round
looming,” he added.
Ill-fated Bill
The Police Association engaged in a high
profile campaign in late 2001 to have the
Police Amendment Bill (No. 2) changed. The
government was, at the time, looking to push
the Bill through Parliament under urgency.
Eventually, after much lobbying, key changes
were agreed upon, although the fact that the
Bill stalled meant that those changes never
saw the light of day. The Police Amendment
Bill No. 2 has languished at the bottom of the
parliamentary Order Paper for several years.
The Bill contained four key areas – bargaining,
governance, appointments and discipline and
the Association had grave concerns about
several proposals,
especially the clauses,
which dealt with the
limiting of future
pay increases, transfers
and
disciplinary
procedures. The now
infamous clause (fa),
dubbed “sweet (fa)”
by many, sought to • Minister of
introduce draconian
Police Hon
employment
Annette King,
restrictions upon police
who has
officers.
promised a
The
Association
comprehensive
objected to the clause
overhaul of the
because it gave the
Police Act 1958.
impression of unfair
inf luence in the arbitration process, being
seen to favour Police over the Association.
The Association argued that the clause was
unacceptable in an environment which
encouraged “good faith” bargaining.
Gordon Anderson, Associate Professor of
Commercial Law at Victoria University,
described the contentious clause as follows:
“It is hard to regard the use of legislation, not
for the purposes of public policy but rather to
indirectly impose Government pay restraints
on one particular group of Crown employees,
as anything other than a cynical abuse of
legislative power.”
Fresh start
Ms King said the Police Act would be reviewed
comprehensively to bring it up to date with
modern legislation.
“The current Police Act is nearly 50 years old
and does not reflect changes to communities
and Police practice over that time,” she said.
Ms King said that a number of issues had arisen
over the years, which would be considered in
the review and subsequent redrafting of the
legislation. These included:
•
•
•
•
the principles of policing;
governance arrangements for police;
human resource management;
creation of a code of conduct for all police
staff;
• more effective public input into national
and local policing priorities;
• maximum scope for flexibility in deploying
police nationally and internationally; and
• facilitating better use of forensic/
technological tools to aid crime prevention
and investigation.
The government has promised a wide
consultation process, which is due to begin
later this year. Greg O'Connor and Association
Chief Executive, Chris Pentecost, have already
had an advance briefing about the review
project, and a commitment has been given to
fully involve the Association in the process as
it moves forward.
New Bill by late 2007
The new Police Bill should be drafted by
November 2007, according to government
sources. The intention is that the Bill would
then be taken through parliament in 2008.
Other political parties have welcomed the
changes.
National Law and Order spokesman, Simon
Power, said it presented the government with a
“golden opportunity” to improve the working
conditions of police officers while NZ First
Law and order spokesman, Ron Mark, said
the new legislation would be supported by
NZ First “so long as it means better response
to the community and that our police are
better equipped to fight crime.”
April 2006
61
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
How your annual leave entitlement works
By Amanda Craig, Police Association
Industrial Officer
Sworn members have 20 annual leave
days, 11 statutory holidays and two
Commissioner’s holidays.
Non-sworn members have 15 annual leave
days (20 after five years service), 11 statutory
days and three Commissioner’s holidays.
Two of the statutory holidays (ANZAC Day
and Waitangi Day are not transferable (i.e.,
‘Mondayised”) if they fall on a weekend and
that day would not otherwise be a working
day for that member.
End of financial year
Contrary to a popular misconception
among members, the leave year does not
revolve around the financial year.
Each member has their own “leave year”,
which starts from their anniversary date of
joining Police. For example, if a member
joined Police on 15 October 1999, their
current annual leave year would be 15
October 2005 – 14 October 2006. When
leave is managed the relevant dates are the
leave year dates, not those of the financial
year.
Leave plans
Police are required to manage annual
leave so requesting members to have leave
plans is reasonable. Leave plans should:
• ensure members are able to take leave
• ensure members are properly consulted
about when they want to take their
leave. Discussions about taking leave
should be a two way street.
• take operational requirements into
account – both members and Police need
to plan around this. For example, Police
should not cancel leave at the last minute
if an operation can occur on the member’s
return or if someone else can take their
place. Equally, members must be aware
that operational requirements can impact
on when they can take their leave; and
• be flexible – members can allocate some
days for taking the odd day or two off
when they feel that they need to take a
break. Also, members should be able to
change their leave plans due to changed
circumstances.
The leave plan is a “living document” as
changes may occur due to operational
requirements or personal circumstances.
Leave accumulation and directives
Members can accumulate annual leave, but
it must be covered in their leave plan. For
example, members may wish to accumulate
leave for an overseas trip, to visit family/
friends or to attend a sports tournament.
However, only the District Commander
can approve an annual leave balance over
66 days.
If there is concern about a member’s leave
balance, their supervisor should raise this
with the member and a leave plan put
in place. A direction should only occur
when discussions with the member on
taking annual leave are unsuccessful or the
member fails to take annual leave as agreed
without good reason.
Members should not be directed to take
leave if there is good reason why they
could not adhere to their leave plan (e.g.
operational requirements may mean annual
leave is deferred or
a planned family
trip may have to be
postponed due to
illness).
Members can be
directed to take annual leave but only if:
• Police and the member concerned have
failed to reach agreement on the timing
of that annual leave, and
• that member has in accord with
General Instruction L305 accumulated
in excess of 33 days.
Thus there is an underlying presumption
that both parties have acted reasonably
towards the other and that dispite this, a
direction is nevertheless necessary.
Public holidays
Members can also be directed to take
alternate holidays (Alternate holidays arise
when a member works on a public holiday
in accord with his or her employment
agreement.) If:
• 12 months has elapsed since the
members entitlement arose; and
• Police and the member have failed
to reach agreement on the timing of
taking that alternate holiday (again
reasonableness applies to both parties)
If a direction to take an alternate holiday is
made, the member must be given 14 days
notice of that direction.
Please contact your local Field Officer or
Association rep if you have any queries or
concerns.
Judge’s bail decision praised by police
With booming prison musters causing flowon pressure on police and court cells, the
decision by a Manukau District Court Judge
David Harvey to refuse bail to a woman
accused of drug trafficking will have been
welcomed by police officers working to catch
serious drug offenders.
Judge Harvey refused bail for Marie Cristia, an
Australian woman, who was caught recently
with two men allegedly trying to traffic 500g
of liquid cocaine through New Zealand in
perfume bottles.
Police opposed bail because Cristia had no ties to
New Zealand and she was deemed a flight risk.
Importation charges
The 43-year-old is charged with importing
cocaine, exporting cocaine and possession of
cocaine for supply. Sydney-based Colombian
brothers, Sergio and Dario Seugel, have also
been charged in relation to the same case.
62
April 2006
Seven other people have disappeared on
bail while facing serious drug charges. Jian
Zhong Xie and Hong Quin Huang, both
facing numerous drug importation charges,
are believed to have fled the country – or be
trying to do so, at time of writing. Xie fled after
being granted bail in January and Huang, his
wife, disappeared just before she was due to
appear in court in February. They are jointly
charged with allegedly importing enough
pseudoephedrine to make up to $15 million
worth of methamphetamine.
In refusing bail to Cristia, Judge Harvey said:
“I must confess that although she has no
previous record or previous convictions, the
lack of ties in this country and the possibility
of flight risk in light of these serious charges is
a matter of very serious concern.”
The judge said that even with the forfeiture
of the accused’s passport there were no
gurantees that she could not still flee the
country. “It does not take much to obtain
the travel documents needed,” he said. Most
people charged with serious drug crimes have
their passport seized.
Judge Harvey said he believed Police were
asking the court to send a message that if there
was a serious drug crime with flight risk, then
bail should be refused.
Stark contrast
The case is in stark contrast to that of Tongan
Commonwealth Games boxing representative
Sitaveki Maka, who faced assault charges
recently in Auckland District Court. Judge
Michael Behrens granted Maka bail.
The charges related to an alleged assault,
which left two teenagers in hospital.
Police opposed bail because Maka had already
breached several of the conditions imposed
relating to an earlier aggravated robbery charge.
The decision left police officers involved in the
case and the teenagers’ families shaking their
heads in disbelief.
Ne w Zealand Police Association
This column is written by a frontline
police officer. It does not
represent the views or policies of
the Police Association.
Trooping the Colour
The incredibles
Absolutely unbelievable! I hear that instead of training frontline staff they are
still looking after the back office. Talk about getting your priorities upside
down. I mean when they are training driving instructors in ‘Bushmaster’
instead of the frontline boys and girls someone really needs their head read...
not even a labotomy is an excuse for this one.
Hopefully our new Commander-in-Chief will sort these types of anomalies out
in the future when he or she is put into the ‘hot seat’ next month.
A headache and a half
Imagine having a good old fashioned fully paid ‘management jolly’ at a
swanky winery to set directions for the coming year. Now we all know after
such a great time away that we underlings will have no problem in applying
for and getting any necessary items that are handy in our daily work. Handy
things like duty jackets, torches and digital cameras are always useful in our
line of work!
If you set the standard then of course you are expected to live by it as you
know all us constables look above us for the right direction!
A slowing economy – yeah right!
Aren’t you sick of hearing that excuse - I know I am. Word out of the castle
in the HR office is that we are in for a real fight over a pay rise this July
as they know our Association is looking to get us back on track and make
this fantastic job even more attractive for those newcomers who are thinking
about joining and us oldies who may be getting a bit worn out.
• Uniformed police ‘troop the Colour’ on their march to Parliament
to mark 120 years of policing in New Zealand.
A pay rise to fairly reflect our efforts in and out of the office would be a great
start. So boys and girls make sure we join arms on this one and watch out
for that divide and conquer strategy that seems to raise its head about this
time.
Red and Black all the way
Those lucky socks are still working and we are sure leading the way as the
Super 14 gets going. The Black Caps are doing well against the Indies and
two weeks sitting in front of the box watching the Commonwealth Games
from across the ditch is certainly an option
for this farm-boy as our team go up against
the best.
Keep up the great work team. See ya.
Mystery substance fells three
A Lansing, Michigan, man was jailed on assault charges after a
prosecutor, police officer and courtroom bailiff became seriously ill after
shaking hands with him.
• The New Zealand Police flag proudly on display in Parliament
grounds.
Photos courtesy of Wellington Police Forensic Photography
Associated Press reported that during a court appearance just prior to
Christmas, John Ridgeway, who was facing traffic offence charges,
pulled out a vial of liquid, rubbed his hands with the contents and insisted
on shaking hands with the three people, authorities said.
The history of the Trooping of the Colour: The ‘Trooping the Colour”
ceremony has its genesis in medieval times. The heavy defensive
armour of that era made recognition symbols essential, and flags or
colours were necessary as rallying points for the horse and foot soldiers.
All of them got sick within an hour, suffering from nausea, headaches,
numbness and tingling that lasted about a day. Two sought treatment at
a hospital.
The FBI mounted an investigation as a result.
One example of the historic importance of colours as the focus of loyalty to
the Crown (and to the regiment) is the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony
at Horse Guards Parade on the Queen’s official birthday, when The Queen
as Colonel-in-Chief of each of the five regiments of Foot Guards takes the
salute.
Ridgeway, 41, told officials the vial contained olive oil, according to
prosecutor Keith Kushion. He was not the prosecutor who fell ill. “I have
never seen the likes of this,” Kushion said. “Nobody else has, either.”
Ridgeway faces up to six years in prison if convicted.
April 2006
63
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Houston officer who criticised
pursuit policy files lawsuit
The Houston police officer embroiled in a freedom of speech argument with
the Houston Police Department (HPD) (Police News, March issue) recently
filed a lawsuit against the department, contending his free speech and civil
rights had been violated.
The case was due to be heard as this issue went to press.
• Dave, Zac, Penny and Daniel Bowman pictured at a fundaiser
on the Kapiti Coast last year.
Dave Bowman “blown away” by
the support of his “Police family”
By Steve Plowman, Editor, Police News
A television documentary entitled “The million dollar tumour”
aired on TV 3 on March 23 about former Police Recruit Instructor,
Dave Bowman, and his fight with the disease Glioblastoma
Multiforme (GBM), the most common form of malignant brain
tumour.
The experts say the disease is incurable but Dave Bowman is not
one to take things lying down and he and wife Penny, who works
for the Police Video Unit, formed an organisation called Head
Start, which has lobbied vigorously to win treatment concessions
on behalf of brain tumour patients.
They recently won significant concessions on behalf of GBM
sufferers, with Pharmac proposing that Temolozomide, which
is used to stabilise the effects of the disease, would be funded
for newly diagnosed Glioblastoma Multiforme patients who were
undergoing radiotherapy. Funded access would also continue
post-radiotherapy, for up to six cycles of treatment. Treatment
with the drug costs $6,000 a month.
But patients with recurrent glioblastoma would not qualify. This
proposed access to Temozolomide for only newly diagnosed
patients is at odds with Australia, Canada, the United States and
the European Union, which have approved this drug for both
groups, and the United Kingdom, which has approved it only for
recurrent patients.
The irony is that Dave Bowman would not qualify under this
proposal.
Fight continues
Dave and Penny have vowed to continue the fight to have
Pharmac change its policy to apply to all GBM sufferers.
Dave told Police News that he had been “blown away” by the
amazing response to his plight from police around the country,
who have organised fundraisers and sports events to raise money
for his ongoing treatment.
The moving documentary followed a year in Dave and Penny’s
life as they took on the New Zealand health system in the hope of
finding a cure that could save his life and the lives of others.
Dave Bowman is a man with a great sense of justice – perhaps
not that surprising in a police officer - but he is also the
quintessential Kiwi battler and even though he is aware he
has a tremendous battle on his hands he told Police News he
will continue to fight the disease on the one hand while also
fighting for a better deal for GBM sufferers from a health
system, which has effectively written them off, on the other.
Dave and Penny’s website is www.headstart.org.nz
64
April 2006
Thomas Nixon had publicly criticised the department’s pursuit policy after
being involved in a January 19 police chase in which an offender’s vehicle
ploughed head-on into another car, containing two women and an infant,
which resulted in one of the women receiving minor injuries.
Desk duties
In the federal lawsuit, Nixon, who had been assigned to desk duty, sought an
immediate return to his duties as a patrol officer, according to a recent report
The Houston Chronicle.
Nixon, a patrol officer for 10 years, claimed his right to free speech had been
violated by “a gag order” allegedly imposed by Police Chief Harold Hurtt.
The lawsuit also asked US District Judge David Hittner to issue a temporary
restraining order to force the HPD to allow Nixon to exercise his constitutional
right to free speech.
Police Chief Hurrt had issued a memo to all HPD officers last year stating
that they “must refrain from criticising the department” in a manner that
“undermines the effectiveness of the department” and interferes with
discipline.
Interim ruling
In an interim ruling on some of the issues, Judge Hittner ruled in favour of the
department, saying Nixon had to follow department orders that he refrain from
making public statements questioning HPD procedures.
Hittner also denied Nixon’s request to be reinstated to patrol duty.
“I’m frustrated with the department,” said Chad Hoffman, Nixon’s attorney.
The city is satisfied with Hittner’s ruling, said Craig Ferrell junior, the
department’s administrative general counsel.
Avoid the loan sharks…
As a Police and Families Credit Union member you are SPECIAL
and we want to help you achieve your financial goals.
If you want to stop paying high bank and finance company
interest rates, your Credit Union can help you do it by providing
a revolving credit loan at an affordable interest rate, for whatever
purpose you wish.
Police and Families can approve loans and mortgages
from $500 to $350,000 secured or unsecured.
Unsecured loans up to a maximum of $10,000
are available.
Police and Families normal lending criteria applies.
Give our lending staff a call now on 0800 285 626 or contact
a Member Services staff member on 0800 429 000 for a loan
application, or apply online by going to www.policecu.org.nz and
login to Internet Banking.
Ne w Zealand Police Association
Police Health Plan Ltd in conjunction with
our Medical Advisors, Medilink, publishes
articles on medical issues that affect our
members.
Pamper your inner person
No, this doesn’t mean having a massage or some
stress management. On a daily basis we are
bombarded by the look and feel good messages.
Mostly these messages are diet combined with
exercise, the recipe for a healthy life. Every
producer of a food commodity is jostling for a
place in our daily life. Obesity, heart disease,
hypertension, type-two diabetes, osteoporosis
and some cancers demonstrate that the
market messages are not being processed and
consciously applied to our daily routine.
As scientists gain more knowledge of diet and how
our bodies work, it is increasingly obvious that our
eating habits influence our well being and may
increase our vulnerability to ill health. It has been
said frequently that poor health is “in the genes”.
We now know that genes can change – mutate
– in some people, and this mutation may trigger ill
health. The causes of genetic mutation are many
and diet is thought to be a contributing factor.
Our fuel
What we eat provides energy for activity, both
mental and physical, and helps to run, repair and
maintain our bodies.
fluids - especially clear fluids such as water and
fruit juice - may be the trigger for bowel disease.
The digestive system is our refinery and fuel line.
It begins in the mouth and progresses through a
series of hollow organs that process our dietary
intake and dispose of the waste products.
Common conditions of the colon are constipation,
colitis (inflammation of the colon), Crohn’s
disease, diverticular disease, irritable bowel
syndrome and cancers.
Refining can be a slow process, depending on the
food type eaten. Food breakdown is assisted by
enzymes, which are found in saliva in our mouths,
and in our stomach and small bowel. Each
segment of the digestive system has a specific
function in the refining and absorption process.
Diet and exercise
Our bowel is divided into two sections, the small
bowel and large bowel. The small bowel runs
from the stomach to the caecum where it joins
the large bowel. Divided into sections known as
duodenum, ileum and jejunum, the small bowel
is approximately six metres in length. This is
the highly technical and complex part of the
refinery. Its processes are at the hub of food
digestion where partially processed food matter
is refined to be absorbed as nutrients, water and
salts.
Large bowel
The large bowel joins the small bowel at the
caecum and consists of the colon and rectum.
The colon is divided into sections, which sends
its contents up, down or sideways (ascending,
descending and transverse) depending on where
it is in the journey through the abdominal cavity.
It is approximately 1.5 metres in length and
its primary function is to remove water from
the waste matter. It also helps to absorb some
vitamins, such as vitamin K.
Though some diseases of the colon are influenced
by age, family history and polyposis (the presence
of polyps), diet also plays a significant role.
Diets high in fat, low in fibre or deficient in
Diet and exercise are our maintenance programs.
We should ensure our food is lubricated by an
adequate fluid intake, and that our every-day
eating habits are low in fat and high in fibre.
The main source of fibre in our diet is from plant
foods, fruit, vegetables grains and seeds. Fats
are needed but it is important to restrict their
qunatity. The most common fasts are saturated
and unsaturated. It is the saturated fats such as
cholesterols that are the most damaging.
Some of the sources of saturated fats are
dairy products, meats, egg yolks and nuts.
This group also includes processed foods such
as chocolates, cakes, biscuits, processed meat
products, snack foods and some energy bars. It
is always important to read the contents labels
on products.
The fats we need in our diets are essential
fatty acids. These provide energy and aid in
the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins such as
vitamains, A D E and K.
Diet management is not easy and does
require thought and planning and good habits.
Lack of time and temptations forever present
barriers but try for everything in moderation, as
we are what we eat.
If you require assistance and/or additional
information please contact by Email:
[email protected] or [email protected]
© Medilink limited 2006
Bernie Bernon’s legacy lives on in Comms
Retired police members will be saddened
to learn of the death of retired member,
Superintendent Bernie Bernon who passed
away on 25th February in his 90th year.
Bernie headed the Telecommunications
Engineering Section at Police National
Headquarters for many years. He brought a new
meaning to the word “telecommunications”
in Police, using his professional skills
and expertise from previous government
employment, both in the United Kingdom
and New Zealand to the job.
Superb job
example of his dedication to making Police
telecommunications more efficient and
reliable was when he financed his own trip
to Norway to evaluate the latest European
control consoles that later became the
standard equipment for the main New
Zealand Police Operations Rooms.
He will be remembered for the superb
job he did planning and re-equipping all
the main Police Communications Centres
nationwide with modern control desks and
reliable radio and telephone systems. An
He built up a technical section comprising
engineers and technicians who appreciated
the high standards Bernie expected of
them. His staff had a great respect for his
professional engineering ability.
His contribution to improved radio and
telephone communications for the Police
was enormous but because of the complexity
of the engineering work it was not always
recognised by police personnel at the time.
We remember…
Who passed away…
BENON Bernard Aubrey
25-Feb-06
Retired member
Titahi Bay
TINDALL Annette Margaret
28-Feb-06
Member
Whangarei
FYFE Allan Matheson
1-Mar-06
Retired member
Waihi
HODGE Graeme Douglas
6-Mar-06
Retired member
Wanganui
DAVIES Herbert Edward
8-Mar-06
Retired member
Whangamata
KLEMRA Murray
18-Mar-06
Spouse of member
New Plymouth
BLINKHORN Garry
22-Mar-06
Retired member
New Plymouth
April 2006
65
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
“If the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, in Canada it is also pitted with neglect, corruption
and downright stupidity. The story of how the bikers conquered Canada’s crime world is a tale of how
politicians dithered while overburdered and understaffed prosecutors burned out and lost major cases,
how errors by certain judges and a tragically complacent justice system at times severely crippled
attempts to convict bikers; how police bosses squabbled while a handful of dedicated cops worked for
years to bring down the bikers; how a few brave citizens stood up to the bikers and how some of them
paid for it with their lives.”
- Julian Sher and William Marsden, authors of the book, “The Road to Hell”.
The lessons Canada can teach about
dealing to gangs/organised crime
By Steve Plowman, Editor, Police News
For more than a decade various Canadian police agencies have
been battling to control the organised criminal activities of Outlaw
Motorcycle Gangs.
At first, it was the Rock Machine, the Outlaws
and the Bandidos who held sway but gradually,
over several years, the American-based Hells
Angels began to infiltrate and ‘patch-over’ local
smaller gangs in Quebec, Ontario and Montreal.
The Hells Angels preferred takeovers to battles
but they had contingency plans for both.
What eventually resulted was all out gang
warfare between the Hells Angels and their rivals,
resulting in the deaths of 157 people over 10
years. During that time there were a further 167
attempted killings and 16 disappearances.
By 1996, the gangs, emboldened by the fact that
they seemed unstoppable, turned their attention
on the police themselves. The Sudbury Police
station was the subject of a bombing, effecting
$130,000 of damage.
A year later, the Hells Angels leadership
masterminded a plan to hit at the heart of
the justice system itself. A gang hit on prison
guards Diane Lavigne and Pierre Rondeau left
the two prison officers dead. By 1998, the
Hells Angels had become so powerful that they
were intimidating prosecutors, police officers,
journalists, jurors and judges. Some police
officers refused to work on cases associated with
the gang, fearing gang repraisals against them
and their families.
In the main, the public remained blissfully
ignorant of the OMCG war, apart from media
reports telling of gang members and associates
being killed by each other. But the spark that
ignited a public and authority backlash came
when shrapnel from a car bomb, which exploded
outside a school in a Montreal suburb, killed
11-year-old Daniel Desrochers. The bomb had
been planted under a jeep owned by Marc Dube,
a drug dealer connected to the Hells Angels. .
That killing sparked a shift in consciousness.
Within two years a law known as Bill C95 was
passed. The legislation meant:
• it was illegal to be part of a criminal
organisation;
• a shift in Police focus from individuals to the
entire organisation;
• the formation of a special team of prosecutors
called the Organised Crime Office (Bureau de
Lutte au Crime Organize); and
• police, Customs and other government
organisations were formed into a single unit.
In 2000 alone, 10 out of 49 homicides in
Montreal were attributed to the biker war.
But none of this had an immediate effect. In 2000
alone, 11 Hells Angels members or associates
were killed or simply disappeared without trace.
But even the loss of these members failed to
deter the Angels from their ultimate goal – to take
over the lucrative Canadian drug market. Their
sole purpose was to wipe out all competition.
Inadvertently, the Ontario Police assisted them as
their operations focussed on Angels rivals such
as the Bandidos and the Outlaws - effectively
weakening their power bases, just as the Hells
Angels were building theirs.
Innocent victims
Use of ‘puppet’ gangs
Unfortunately, as with all wars, innocents were
killed along the way – nine civilians died in the
crossfire.
Hells Angels Nomads used ‘puppet’ gangs, such
as the Rockers, the Evil Ones and the ParaDice Riders, to do their intimidation, bombings
In April 1999, Montreal police discovered bombs
under five police stations. Luckily, all had faulty
detonators.
66
April 2006
and retribution. These ‘puppet’ gangs, as they
were known, paid a 10% tithe (of their monthly
earnings) to the Hells Angels. The Hells Angels
would collect the money at monthly meetings
called ‘le messe’ – (in French) “the mass”.
Gangs in Australia and New Zealand, operating
in similar vein, are known to call their Sunday
meetings “church”. Police News has learned
of one gang leader who has been operating
a tithing system (he calls it koha) over several
methamphetamine dealers.
In Canada, the Hells Angels made sure that they
changed the venue for the meetings each month
and only let the Rockers know the time of the
meeting by delivering hotel business cards to
them with the meeting time written on the back.
More heat came down on the Hells Angels and
the Rock Machine when 56-year-old Michel
Auger, Quebec’s premier crime reporter and
Editor of Le Journal de Montreal, was shot six
times by an unknown assassin in what police
believed to be a gang hit. Auger survived. A day
before the shooting he had published articles
about the gangs and links to the Mafia.
Auger’s shooting sparked community outrage,
with mass public protests and the public
threatening to forcibly remove gang fortifications
and forming human chains around various gang
headquarters. The Rock Machine and Hells
Angels called a truce.
Wolverine breakthrough
The anti-gang/organised crime unit, known
as Wolverine, eventually made a major
breakthrough with the discovery, after a lengthy
surveillance operation, of $5.6 million in cash in
an apartment. The apartment was being run as a
bank for the Hells Angels.
Further police operations in Ontario, Montreal
and Quebec followed in 2001. These resulted in
128 arrests on charges ranging from weapons
possession to murder. $500,000 in cash and
$7.5 million in assets were seized as a result of
Operations Ocean, Rush and Springtime.
Ne w Zealand Police Association
In Ontario, the PSS (Provincial Special Squad)
was formed with 42 officers from 18 police
agencies. By August 2002, the squad’s budget
had been doubled and there were 108 officers
on board. The squad was renamed as the BEU
(Biker Enforcement Unit).
Police successes
The various police operations have resulted
in so-called mega-trials, held in specially
constructed courtrooms in Montreal, with the
highest security.
The first such trial was, however, an expensive
disaster. It ended in July 2002 when the judge,
Jean-Guy Boilard, quit because of a complaint
filed against him by one of the defence lawyers
after months of testimony. Quebec Superior Court
judge, Pierre Beliveau, subsequently ordered a
fresh trial. Several jurors stepped down from the
case, alleging personal hardship. The cost to
taxpayers was (Canadian) $2.5 million ($NZ2.73
million).
In May 2002 one of the really big fish in the
Hells Angels empire – Maurice (Mom) Boucher,
48, was convicted of two counts of first-degree
murder and one count of attempted murder,
arising out of the execution-style killing of two
prison guards. Boucher was the leader of the
Quebec Hells Angels Nomads. He received life
imprisonment with a non-parole period of 25
years. Boucher has appealed the conviction.
In March of last year nine members of the
Hells Angels were convicted of 26 counts of
gangsterism, drug trafficking and conspiracy to
commit murder.
But despite these apparent law enforcement
successes, police insiders knew that the Angels
were becoming stronger than ever – especially in
Manitoba and British Columbia, as they patched
over other gangs and escalated their infiltration of
the postal service, telephone companies, motor
vehicle licensing bureaus and police offices. In
Vancouver and Halifax police discovered that the
Angels had significantly infiltrated the waterfront,
with many gang members working for port
authorities as checkers on the containers,
labourers, cleaners and crane operators.
This allowed the Hells Angels to import large
quantities of drugs through associations built up
with foreign drug cartels. Police discovered that
the Angels had developed an ingenious system
of circumventing Customs checks by using
counterfeit seals on containers.
Obstruction
Police also felt port authority bosses were
obstructive of port authority police and eventually
police bases were disbanded. In Halifax, a port
police officer, Eric Mott, had been building
a profile of gang members who worked on
the waterfront. It had taken Mott 10 years of
painstaking work and during this time he had
identified 7,000 waterfront workers as persons
of interest - 75% of them had criminal records.
When the port authority closed the police base all
of Mott’s files mysteriously disappeared – three
drawers full.
In Winnipeg the formation of an anti-gang squad
coincided with an attempted bombing of the
squad leader’s house. Her car was bombed
in her driveway. The gangs were sending a
message to the police that they weren’t about to
go quietly.
Manitoba Hells Angels Chapter President, Ernie
Dew’s comments gave an insight into the more
sophisticated, business-oriented thinking that
was now driving the Hells Angels. “Back in
the old days, nobody worked. Get out of the
sixties guys; we’re not in the sixties anymore.
Everybody’s well dressed. You don’t see hair
down to your arse anymore. There’s a big
change. We all get older and we all get wiser.”
Hells Angels
motto: “Three
people can keep
a secret if two
are dead.”
Outlaws motto:
“God forgives,
Outlaws don’t.”
Bandidos motto: “We are the
people that our parents warned us
about.”
- Photos courtesy of the West Australian Police.
Battle lines drawn
As the law enforcement agencies began to
galvanise their investigations, so too did the
Hells Angels. The Angels started a surveillance
program on prison guards and police officers.
They stole police laptops and the Rockers
intercepted and recorded police radio ‘traffic’.
The gangs obtained a list of police radio
frequencies and built up a dossier of police
officers’ names, addresses, car registrations and
videoed and photographed individual officers.
In yet another twist, the Angels in Montreal
and further afield, employed ex-police officers
as private investigators. Police discovered that
one ex-cop was now working for the Rockers
and was employed as the chief emissary to a
Columbian drug cartel. In 2003, a former New
York City police officer, Homero Zapata, 40,
was sentenced to six years in jail for laundering
as much as $4 million for Columbian cocaine
dealers.
He was initially arrested on a speeding charge on
the interstate freeway but a search of his vehicle
uncovered $200,000 in cash, which was found
to have traces of cocaine on it.
The Hells Angels had now become so powerful
in the drug trafficking trade in Canada that their
only serious rival was the Italian Mafia.
Obviously weary of getting into a turf war with
the Italians, the Hells Angels Nomads decided
on a different, more business-like approach by
setting up joint-interest business alliances with
the Mafia.
The Angels decided to consolidate their
operations by implementing a price control
system. In 2000 they formed La Table (or the
Company) for the purpose of fixing the price
of cocaine at $50,000 a kilogram. They tried
to strike a deal with the Mafia, the other major
importer of hard drugs into Canada. At the height
of their operations the Angels were importing 250
kilograms of cocaine a week into Montreal alone.
It comes down to budgets
By now Police realised that the bird had almost
flown. As one RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted
Police) officer put it: “They had better sources of
income than us…it all boils down to your budget.”
When arrested, not only could the Angels afford
the best lawyers money could buy, in one instance
they actually tried to buy the whole jury – offering
a bribe of $100,000 each to jury members.
The FBI estimates that the annual income of the
Hells Angels’ worldwide operations is $1 billion.
With this type of wealth at their disposal, the
gangs are again in expansion mode, despite
several high-profile convictions.
But even so, police know that the war on the
gangs and organised crime in Canada is only
just beginning because for so long the gangs
were largely left to their own devices, something
which some New Zealand police officers say is a
risk in this country with the downsizing of gang
intelligence units over recent years.
The Angels expansion into Canada has seen
them displace the Los Bravos in Manitoba, the
Rebels in Saskatchewan and the Grim Reapers in
Alberta as the main gang in those jurisdictions.
Ontario – a future battleground?
Their traditional rivals, the Outlaws, are known
to oppose the expansion of the Angels into
Ontario and police fear gang warfare, similar to
the 1990s, may again erupt. The Hells Angels
biggest presence is now in Ontario – 40% of
its members live there. The Para Dice Riders,
Satan’s Choice and the Vagabonds are others
with substantial interests in Ontario and police
believe the three gangs have recently brokered a
truce. But Ontario Police are concerned at a new
development within the gang scene – saying
April 2006
67
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
there is evidence of a secondary alliance
between the Hells Angels and Satan’s Choice.
the identity of the informant they knew was in
their midst.
very much in danger of losing unless a significant
sea-change takes place.
There is evidence that old rivalries are being
replaced by new alliances. The Bandidos and
the Rock Machine have brokered such a deal in
order to take on the might of the Hells Angels.
There are those who naively believe that New
Zealand gangs will eventually self-destruct
through their exposure to meth and P (the more
potent crystalised form of the drug) or that senior
members may actively discourage their own
offspring from following in their footsteps. But the
reality is that for every gang member that leaves
there are many disenfranchised and alienated
youths ready to take up the colours.
The Canadian approach of substantive cooperation between agencies such as Customs,
Police, Justice, Health and financial agencies,
backed by strong and meaningful legislation, is
being adopted in other jurisdictions around the
world, New Zealand among them.
Outlaw Motorcycle gangs have become such
huge criminal enterprises in Europe, America
and Asia that they now rival the powerful South
American drug cartels and established Mafia
crime families.
Organised crime, as such, is an amorphous
term. Individuals, motorcycle gangs or
transnational crime syndicates, can come under
the umbrella term but no matter what form
it takes, many are highly-organised criminal
enterprises with budgets far outstripping those
available to the Police.
Law enforcement agencies in Canada have
only now begun to put a dent in some of these
networks through carefully administered interagency efforts, which have replaced the efforts
of individual squads, or in some cases, just
individual officers.
Asset legislation as a tool
Asset seizure legislation is just one tool
in the law enforcement arsenal. But as
quickly as governments enact asset seizure
legislation, organised crime has found ways of
circumventing it - by taking money offshore,
leasing premises or laundering the money
through legitimate businesses and trusts.
Afterall, they can afford the best lawyers and
accountants.
In many police jurisdictions around the world the
story is the same. Stretched policing resources
have led to a climate of prioritised policing and a
focus on volume crimes such as burglaries and
thefts. The irony is that those same burglaries
and thefts are often financing drug habits
brought about by an enormous influx of illicit
drugs. It’s a vicious cycle and law enforcement
agencies the world over have learned that the
best way to fight the problem is to adopt the
same trans-national approach as the drug
traffickers do.
The arrests of major gang figures in Canada
resulted from gang intelligence and good
informants. The informant who single-handedly
dealt the biggest blow to the Hells Angels was
one of their own – a supergrass called Dany
Kane, who felt undervalued by the Angels and
yet became so trusted by the leadership that he
was able to lead a double-life as a senior HA
member and a RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted
Police) informant. Kane eventually committed
suicide as the gang began to close in on learning
68
April 2006
The Canadian experience shows us that some
gangs may not survive but their members usually
merge into other more powerful entities. ‘Survival
of the fittest’ is a well-worn code within the drug
world.
A new approach
After years of hamstrung investigators, working
largely on their own with very limited budgets,
the fight back has begun in Canada through
a combination of inter-agency co-operation,
a merging of resources, and the dedication of
teams whose sole working function in life is
to put gangs/organised crime groups out of
business.
The war on gangs and organised crime has
ebbed and flowed for decades. Like the socalled ‘war on terrorism’ it is a war without a
foreseeable end.
When the Canadians finally woke up to the
fact that a new approach was needed to an
old problem, it was almost too late. The Hells
Angels, as one example, had such entrenched
monopolies that their drug empire had the
look of a seemingly inpenetrable fortress. If it
hadn’t been for supergrass Dany Kane and the
dedicated police officers who handled him, it
may well have stayed that way.
Legislation
The Canadians have learned that putting a dent
in such international criminal organisations
needs the backing of cast-iron laws which take
criminal’s assets and puts those involved in drug
manufacture and trafficking out of circulation for
very lengthy periods of time. Long enough that
they never do business again.
They are the first to tell you that it is no easy
task. But for the good of society as a whole it is
a battle that must be waged and won. The costs
to society in terms of health care, justice, law
enforcement and wrecked lives is a cost which
no government or society can afford to bear.
There are plenty of seasoned police officers with
vast gang intelligence experience, both within
the New Zealand Police and overseas, who say
that this is a battle law enforcement agencies are
The NBCI (National Bureau of Criminal
Intelligence) has been in existence since 1972
and is a collaborative unit involving Customs,
Police and the Ministry of Health. Over the last
18 months, the Ministry of Health has had a
representative within the NDIB (National Drug
Intelligence Bureau), even though they have
maintained links with the bureau since 1972.
The physical presence of all three agencies in
the same office and the sharing of information
and intelligence, which has resulted, has
greatly improved the collaborative approach
being adopted by the agencies to identify the
cost burden which illicit drug use places on
society.
Buy-in from government needed
With buy-in from future governments and
proper resourcing, it could be the genesis for
longer-term minimisation of the increasingly
harmful part, which illicit drugs such as
methamphetamine play in undermining the social
fabric of society. It could also give the impetus to
deal with the gangs themselves.
In the USA, which now lists meth as its
single biggest drug problem, Americans are
beginning to count the drug’s huge cost
on social services. A conservative estimate
prepared for former US President, Bill Clinton,
during his time in office, said that the cost
to America was approximately $400 billion a
year. A similar study in Australia three years
ago, said that the cost to Australian taxpayers
of illicit drugs was estimated at $1.7 billion.
New Zealand is seeing the tip of the
methamphetamine iceberg at present. If
current trends continue along overseas lines,
the New Zealand taxpayer will, in the nottoo-distant future, be picking up a very costly
and significantly increased tab across a wide
spectrum of government agencies as a result of
the insidious spread of methamphetamine.
And by and large we will have organised crime
and their links to our gangs to thank for that.
Sources: “The Road To Hell”, courtesy of Julian Sher
and William Marsden; Police News sources within
NZ and Canada; Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,
Steve Tretheway (Arizona Department of Public Safety);
Lieutenant Terry Katz (Criminal Intelligence Division,
Maryland State Police); Detective Constable Charles Ennis
(Vancouver, BC, Police Department).
Ne w Zealand Police Association
“The first thing to remember is that the organisation of crime is directed towards the accumulation of money
and, with it, power. The possession of power that flows with great wealth is, to some people, an important
matter in itself, but this is secondary to the prime aim of accumulating money.”
– Frank Costigan, Australian QC.
The changing face of New Zealand gangs
Through the 1970’s and 80’s, violence amongst gangs peaked. Now we see
the occasional turf dust-up – usually in a provincial town like Wanganui or
Palmerston North.
Drive-by shootings, stabbings, molotov cocktail
attacks and assaults with baseball bats, crowbars
and other weapons were all part of the gang
arsenal as the Mongrel Mob and Black Power
gangs squared off in turf wars in the streets of
Porirua, Wairoa, South Auckland, Moerewa and
Christchurch.
That all changed in the late 1990’s when some
gangs realised that such confrontations attracted
the attention of Police - and that wasn’t good
for ‘business’. Senior gang members in the Hells
Angels, Highway 61 and the Head Hunters soon
realised that it was better to do business together.
A decade ago, eight OMCG gangs formed an
alliance, which they dubbed The Federation. The
formation of the Federation coincided with a police
crackdown on the Road Knights after they were
implicated in a drive-by shooting involving an attack
on the Epitaph Riders. An innocent bystander was
injured in that attack.
The Federation was renamed the A-team,
apparently at the behest of the Epitaph Riders.
The A-team consists of the Outcasts, the Epitaph
Riders, the Forty-Fives, the Southern Vikings,
Satan’s Slaves, Sinn Fein, the Lost Breed and the
Lone Legion gangs.
Police sources say that such alliances are part of
a deliberate plan to lower gang profiles and take
their activities underground. Gangs are legitimising
their wealth by buying into established mainstream
businessess.
Some of these businesses allow gangs to engage
in money laundering while others, such as hotels,
brothels and the trucking industry, give them easy
access to potential clients for drug distribution.
Associates within the transport industry afford
the gangs/organised crime the opportunity to
distribute nationwide with ease. Last year, a CVIU
(Commercial Vehicle Investigation Unit)-Customs
swoop on truck drivers in Auckland resulted in
33% of vehicles testing positive for the presence
of drugs. A Customs drug dog was used in the
operation.
At a bike rally last year, patched gang members
from a variety of gangs mixed freely together
– something that would have been unheard of
several years ago.
$22 million seizure
In May last year NSW, Queensland and South
Australian Police arrested 20 members or
associates of five different motorcycle gangs after
uncovering a methamphetamine racket worth $22
million. Police alleged that members of the Rebels
and Nomads gangs were working in conjunction
with the Gypsy Jokers, Hells Angels and Finks. They
said that the gangs had used insiders within the
trucking industry to distribute methamphetamine.
The relationship between the Finks and the Hells
Angels has since deteriorated and they were
involved in a violent confrontation on the Gold Coast
a couple of weeks ago.
Many gangs have almost moved entirely out of
cannabis dealing into the much more lucrative ATS
(amphetamine type substances) market is evidence
of their ability to morph into new markets with ease.
Well organised
With high profit margins and vast sums of money
at their disposal, gangs are using their wealth to
become as well organised as the law enforcement
agencies, which have traditionally given them the
most grief.
The Government is currently drafting asset forfeiture
legislation, which it hopes will hit at the wealth of
criminal enterprises. Police have welcomed the
legislation as another tool in their fight against
organised crime. The gangs and other organised
criminal enterprises are smart – they have a year to
find ways to circumvent these measures, and they
will – because their very survival depends on it.
Notable successes
New Zealand Police have had some notable
successes recently in gaining convictions against
major gang players responsible for the manufacture
and distribution of drugs. Last year’s Operation
Soprano and the recent arrest of Black Power gang
members in South Auckland on drug charges are
evidence that Police can hit at the heart of the
gangs drug dealing activities.
But some officers, working within the gang
environment, say Police could be doing “so much
better” if there were more resources dedicated to
gang intelligence nationwide.
Others have said that the vast amounts of money
being generated by dealing in amphetamines is
also likely to lead to execution-style killings similar
to that of a former Road Knights gang member
in Christchurch last year. But they say that such
events are generally isolated incidents and largely
kept ‘in-house’ by gangs.
Truce called
Police News understands that last year in a
Wellington suburb there was a meeting between
various chapters of the Mongrel Mob and the Black
Power, the purpose of which was to call a truce
between the gangs in order to extend common
‘business’ interests.
The Wellington meeting followed on from a meeting
held in Hastings last year between more than
60 Black Power and Mongrel Mob gang bosses,
which was billed as a “leadership seminar” aimed
at burying decades of intense rivalry between the
two gangs. Gang leaders said at the time that they
were interested in providing their children with
a better future than the one they had seen as a
result of their gang affiliations but Police say there
is little concrete evidence that entrenched criminal
mindsets have changed.
US based psychologist John Wareham was a guest
speaker at the meeting as was Joseph Roberts, a
counsellor at one of America’s largest prisons.
• Mongrel Mob and Black Power members met last year in Hastings. The various chapters of both gangs in the Wellington area are believed to
have a called an uneasy truce.
- Photos courtesy of the NZ Herald.
April 2006
69
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Taking the crim’s assets
• acting independently in relation to decisions
to investigate or take proceedings against
any person with a view to forfeiture;
The Criminal Proceeds and Instruments Bill sets out legislation, which is
aimed at instituting a civil forfeiture regime designed to allow the High
Court to order the restraint of assets where there is reasonable cause to
believe that have been gained as the result of criminal activity.
• the powers of search and seizure
regarding evidence for the purposes of
applying for profit or asset forfeiture
orders;
In amongst a raft of other bills its progress
through Parliament has been stymied and
it still awaits its first reading as this issue
went to press.
Initially the court is tasked with finding the
civil standard of proof – i.e. based on the
balance of probabilities – that the assets
were obtained as a result of criminal acts.
If the court finds that to be the case then it
may order confiscation of the assets.
In announcing the Bill, former Justice
Minister, Phil Goff, said last year that the
aim of the Bill is to “strip gangs of assets,
seriously reducing the profitability of
organised crime activities and disrupting
the capacity of organised crime to finance
further criminal activity”.
Law to apply retrospectively
The legislation will apply retrospectively to
all assets and benefits derived from crime
over the seven years preceding the legislation
being enacted. The legislation will therefore
not have to be in place for years before its
effect is felt. Mr Goff said restrospectivity
is appropriate in this case, and it is not
inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of
Rights Act. The assets confiscated will have
been found by the court not to be legally
in the possession of those from whom they
are seized.
The policy objectives are:
• to confiscate property from persons
who have engaged in or profited from
significant criminal activity;
• to reduce the rewards from crime for the
individual;
• to reduce the attraction of crime for
potential offenders; and
• to reduce the resources that could
potentially be used for criminal activity.
Legislative powers
The legislation will:
• repeal the existing Proceeds of Crime Act
1991, which provides for confiscation of
property only where the owner has been
convicted of a criminal offence;
• the Bill will provide for a convictionbased forfeiture regime limited to
instruments of crime (items used to
commit or facilitate the commission of
predicate criminal activity) and a non70
April 2006
conviction-based confiscation regime to
deal with all other property representing
the proceeds of crime or assessed to
be the value of a person's unlawfully
derived income. The non-convictionbased regime or civil regime will
operate completely independently of
any criminal proceedings that may be in
course or contemplated. Consequently,
the same person may be the subject of
both criminal prosecution (including
potential forfeiture of instruments of
crime) and confiscation action under the
civil process;
• the Bill will enable two types of
confiscation orders to be made: one for
the forfeiture of property to a specified
value that represents the profits of
significant criminal activity; the other
for forfeiture of a specific asset or assets
derived directly or indirectly from
significant criminal activity;
• there is also provision for a restraining
order to be made to preserve property
while the Crown is gathering evidence
to support an application for forfeiture.
The test for making a restraining order is
that there is reasonable cause to believe
that the property concerned falls within
the scope of one of the types of forfeiture
orders;
• the Bill sets a threshold for these orders that the property concerned derives from
"significant criminal activity", which is
defined as either an offence punishable
by at least five years imprisonment, or
activity that has generated profits to
a value of at least $30,000. The civil
forfeiture orders are referred to in the
Bill as profit forfeiture orders and asset
forfeiture orders, respectively; and
• there will be two types of forfeiture
order – a “profit” forfeiture order and
an “asset” forfeiture order. The former
is directed against the person, the latter
against property rather than the person.
Recovery body
Action to confiscate proceeds of crime under
the civil regime will be the responsibility of
a recovery body, being an agency designated
for that purpose by the Attorney General.
The Director will have wide ranging powers,
including:
• on obtaining a restraining order the
Director of the recovery body will have
the power (without further application
to the court) to require the person who is
the subject of the investigation, or whose
property is suspected of being derived
from crime, to produce documents or to
answer questions;
• the Director will also have the power
to require any financial institution to
produce documents on matters relevant
to an investigation or proceedings once
a restraining order is made. Other third
parties will, however, only be obliged
to produce documents relevant to an
investigation if the Director obtains a
court order for that purpose; and
• the recovery body will be able to seek
information from other government
agencies in relation to persons under
investigation. Particular safeguards are
provided in relation to information
that may be obtained from the Inland
Revenue Department.
Sentencing Act amendment
The Bill consists of four parts. Part 4 (four)
and amends the Sentencing Act 2002. It
is intended that, at the Committee of the
whole House stage, Part 4 will be divided
from the rest of the Bill to become a separate
Sentencing Amendment Bill.
Other jurisdictions, in Australia, Ireland
and the United Kingdom, have introduced
legislation that enables criminal proceeds to
be targeted without a conviction necessarily
being obtained. These regimes are proving
considerably more effective than previous
laws in terms of the value of criminal
proceeds confiscated. This Bill will introduce
a similar approach in New Zealand.
The Bill is modeled on legislation that has
operated for many years in New South
Wales. Mr Goff told Parliament last year
that in 90 percent of cases where the
NSW authority had seized assets on the
basis of “reasonable cause to believe”, the
criminals involved had surrendered the
assets “without further taxpayer expense
and without requiring the involvement in
the court system”.
Given the ability of gangs to infiltrate and
intimidate those that oppose them the Police
Association is opposed to any organisation
other than Police being responsible for the
operation of asset seizure.
Ne w Zealand Police Association
Gang members/associates outnumber
sworn police by nearly nine-to-one
By Steve Plowman, Editor, Police News
• Efforts to ban gang patches, while well
intentioned, may in fact aid some gang’s
deliberate efforts to lower their public
profile.
Moves against gangs
fraught with legal
impediments
The recent violent gang clash between the Hells
Angels and Mongrel Mob in Wanganui, which
resulted in Armed Offenders’ Squad raids on
their respective headquarters and moves by the
Wanganui City Council to outlaw the wearing of
gang patches in certain parts of the city, also
raised the old argument of whether gangs could
be banned altogether.
NZ First MP Ron Mark said that the gangs should
be outlawed but Minister of Police, Annette King,
has dismissed this suggestion, saying: “I do not
believe it is feasible or possible to outlaw them.
What we can do is ensure that they have the
least possible impact on the community by good
policing, community involvement, and the sorts of
strategies that have been put in place. But to say
that if we outlaw them by law, that will happen, is,
I think, dreaming.”
Efforts to outlaw gangs in the past have failed.
Legal problems
Non-association laws have been mooted but
never passed due to legal arguments about an
infringement of civil liberties and moves by the
Christchurch City Council several years ago to
outlaw gang fortifications also ran into legal
problems. While the banning of gang fortifications
under council bylaws and zoning restrictions
might initially make it easier for Police to monitor
gang activities, the gangs can get around this by
relocating to areas where the zoning restrictions
do not apply – such as rural and industrial
locations.
That’s why police officers and experts in the gang/
organised crime fields are going to welcome with
open arms the passing of the Criminal Proceeds
and Instruments Bill, which is currently being
drafted.
Wanganui mayor, Michael Laws, recently said
that the Criminal Proceeds and Instruments Act,
coupled with more police and tougher bylaws
showed that “there is light at the end of the
tunnel”.
There will be plenty of people both in and outside
Police hoping that he is right on the money.
With nearly 6,000-patched
members and an estimated
60,000 associates or ‘hangarounds’, ethnic, outlaw
motorcycle (OMCGs) and youth
gangs in New Zealand outnumber
sworn police officers by nearly
nine-to-one.
The latest official figures from NZ Police
show that there are 7,627 sworn officers.
But in a trend that has come straight out of
the USA, Canada and Europe some of the
stronger New Zealand gangs are “patching
over” smaller clubs. Patching over, as the
name suggests, allows the stronger club to
absorb the smaller club into its membership
in return for the stronger club’s patch and a
share of the smaller clubs earnings.
Police sources indicate that as P has
imploded on several New Zealand gangs,
the stronger and much better organised
gangs, such as the Hells Angels, have begun
to actively patch over other gangs. Police
News is aware of one lower North Island
gang, decimated by P addiction, whose dayto-day activities are now falling under the
control of a couple of other South Islandbased gangs
Top overseas Police have told Police News
that they view the modern day gangs in
Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia as
being as powerful as Italian mafia crime
families in their heyday.
OMCGs, like terrorist networks, cut across
international borders. Many have set
up chapters in Europe, Australia, South
America and Africa that would rival the
franchises of McDonalds, Burger King and
Coca-Cola in their business structure and
acumen.
The major players
Interpol has identified a trio of American
gangs – the Hells Angels, Bandidos and
the Outlaws as being the big international
movers and shakers in the illicit drug trade.
The Hells Angels have 1,800-patched
members and several thousand associates
spread over 22 countries. This trio have
begun to patch over and take control of the
smaller clubs in return for the sought-after
Hells Angels, Bandidos or Outlaw patches.
The smaller clubs then become known as
“puppet” clubs. The Bandidos, rivals of
the Hells Angels, have recently forged an
alliance with the Rock Machine, which
fought a bloody turf war with the Hells
Angels several years ago.
The USA-based Bandidos have links with
the Highway 61 gang. Police sources say
that the Head Hunters and the Hells Angels
have brokered links in order to further their
drug dealing interests.
Internationally, the Hells Angels are
known to have developed a close working
relationship with Columbian drug cartels
and La Cosa Nostra (the Italian Mafia).
Large scale enterprises
Despite significant operations by the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the US Drug
Enforcement Agency (DEA), individual
police forces and specialist anti-gang
squads under the auspices of the RacketeerInfluenced and Corrupt Organisation
(RICO) laws, law enforcement agencies,
in the main, have merely dented the gang
enterprises.
Overseas gangs have responded by hiring
high-powered attorneys who specialise
in defending them against organised
crime allegations. Many gangs have
used the American court system to their
own advantage by having lawyers serve
multiple discovery motions, in order to
delay proceedings on the one hand, and
in an effort to gain information about
witnesses or jury members on the other.
Some have hired private investigators to
gain information, such as the addresses of
witnesses and jurors, which might otherwise
be suppressed by the courts.
The emphasis for today’s gangs is on being
as covert as a Diplomatic Protection Squad
officer’s vest. That’s why the gang stoush
in Wanganui between the Mongrel Mob
and Hells Angels will not have gone down
well with the leadership of the Hells Angels
in particular, because it has again raised
their profile at a time when they have been
working hard to lower it.
However, the Wanganui Council’s ban on
gang patches may inadvertently work to the
Hells Angels advantage – giving members
the perfect opportunity to once again lower
their profile.
Many senior members of gangs have given
up their identifying patches and wear long
sleeves in order to hide traditional gang
Continued next page
April 2006
71
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
tattoos, so as to better blend in with mainstream society.
Whereas in previous years many gang members were poorly
educated, police believe that some of today’s gang members
and associates are gaining degrees in business, computer
science, finance and criminal justice/criminology.
“Always do right - this will gratify some and astonish
the rest.”
- (Mark Twain 1835-1910)
Education and infiltration
The more sophisticated gangs know only too well the truth
of the old maxim: “Knowledge is power” – and these subjects
improve the gang’s expertise in highly profitable criminal
enterprises. Education gang associates to entrench themselves
in government positions (including the military) and other
legitimate professions. These legitimate jobs give gang
associates access to technology, weapons and other information
where security records, motor vehicle files, personal data and
police reports are maintained. Like traditional organised crime
groups, the gangs (both ethnic and OMCGs) have made a
concentrated effort to invest their illegal gains into legitimate
businesses.
With this more sophisticated approach by the gangs, ironically
it is now the Police who face the threat of infiltration of their
ranks. If, for instance, Police were to lower recruiting standards
in order to make up for falling recruit numbers, then the risks
of infiltration and corruption would increase exponentially.
The conviction earlier last year of a Police IT worker for
methamphetamine-related offences sent shockwaves through
the Police administration when it was found the worker had
high-level clearance to sensitive information.
Last year an Auckland police officer was found guilty of
supplying methamphetamine to associates after allegedly
seizing point bags in a drug bust. He has since resigned.
Another disturbing twist came last month when a Police
Comms call taker was charged with helping David Dunn, a
senior member of the Head Hunters, to avoid arrest. She was
also charged with possession of a meth pipe.
“The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for
good men to do nothing.”
- (Edmund Burke, 1729-1797)
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though
nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything
is a miracle.”
- (Albert Einstein 1879-1955).
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
Resourcing and ring-fencing
At the same time as OMCGs are forging links internationally;
the NZ Police is stretched for resources to deal adequately
with them because of the propensity to ‘ring-fence’ positions.
Frontline police numbers, while due for a boost of 1000 sworn
police officers over the next three years (250 of which have
already been ring-fenced for community constable positions)
are still thin in this area of crime prevention. The Police have
recently moved to set up Organised Crime Units in some
provincial centres. This may have a concertina effect on other
resources, especially for the CIB.
But in some areas gang intelligence units have been disbanded
or downsized and the centralisation of police resources has
had the effect of allowing the gangs to operate without much
fear of attracting police attention, especially in provincial
towns.
There is still good work going through increased interdepartmental co-operation and this has resulted in some
significant drug busts recently. But police officers working in
the drug and gang intelligence areas say that more resources
and tougher legislation, such as the Criminal Assets and
Instruments Bill, cannot come soon enough.
72
April 2006
22
23
Clues:
Across:
1. Shortened multiple units of electrical
current (4)
3. Five Hundred siestas united to aid
somebody (8)
9. Ed cried when winner found after last final
game (7)
10. An amount of cannabis (7)
11. Critical food judges, coin sourness
together (12)
13. Fifty reeds form wiser beings (6)
15. A sort of institution (6)
17. One who studies the origins of things (12)
20. A vain type of flu, perhaps for birds (6)
21. Unlit partial neon light, to trace detail (7)
22. Dessert I was opposed to (8)
23. Legge or ivory? Which ones does a
burglar prefer? (4)
March answers:
Across:
1. Fame
3. Hung over
9. Rereads
10. Aired
11. Naturalising
13. Incite
15. Outage
17. Implications
Down:
1. Cadet did something he was hooked
on (8)
2. Type of nut (5)
4. Type of work illness (6)
5. AOS snipers scope will have the
offender “.....” (2,4,6)
6. Spiral leaf of a plant ready to attach (7)
7. Edit the tide, or tied. Just lose weight.
(4)
8. Puts off court hearings (12)
12. Hard-hitting cricketers perhaps? (8)
14. Dilates or mixed deltas I gave as
particulars (7)
16. A clove in a wall recess (6)
18. Take with a warrant (5)
19. Free and in repair, initially (4)
20. Sires
21. Coroner
22. Assessed
23. Vend
Down:
1. Forensic
2. Merit
4. Unsold
5. Glasscutter
6. Veranda
7. Ride
8. Hairstylists
12. Censored
14. Cameras
16. Icicle
18. Ounce
19. Asia
Ne w Zealand Police Association
Hells Angels
declared a
criminal
organisation
The conviction of two Ontario men for extortion
against a Barrie businessman last year promises
to have far reaching legal consequences as law
enforcement agencies and the Hells Angels faceoff for legal warfare.
In a precedent-setting move, Superior Court
Judge Michelle Fuerst decided they acted “in
association” with a criminal organisation: the
Hells Angels.
Federal organised-crime legislation (Bill C-95)
was enacted in 2001, but the ruling marks the
first time it has been used against the notorious
motorcycle club. Quebec Hells Angels members
have faced a similar charge of working for a
criminal organisation, but not through the antigang law’s use.
• The Hells Angels in NZ have close links to their gang ‘brothers’ in Australia, Europe, the
USA and Canada.
– Photo courtesy of West Australian Police
The Church of the Angels?
The Hells Angels in church?
You must be joking!
In an ironic twist to how the gang has an eye
for the main chance, the Hells Angels in the
USA are said to have set up their own church
– the Church of the Angels.
Police from Arizona’s Department of Public
Safety and the Maryland-based Criminal
Intelligence Division contend that such
a church exists – at least on paper. The
gang is said to be using the ‘church’ as a
façade for gaining federal, local and state
tax exemptions. Churches are exempt from
paying income tax. The other spin-off for the
gang is that by appointing gang members
as “ministers” they will then gain privileged
access to gang members in jail.
The plan is so cunning you could pin a tail on
it and call it a donkey.
Links between religious symbolism and the
gangs goes back to the formation of Outlaw
Motorcyle Gangs back in the 1950s. Many
gangs still refer to their meetings as “going to
church” and many have “tithing” programmes
similar to mainstream churches. The ‘church’
reference was because the meetings were
traditionally held on a Sunday.
Similar structures
Both organisations are highly structured with
male-dominated hierarchical leadership.
Churches have services or masses – the
gangs have rallies, runs or meets.
Church ministers and priests often wear
coloured vestments symbolising their authority
– similarly, gang members wear patches and
insignias – their ‘colours’.
Some gang members have tattoos of the
pentagram – a five-pointed star, which is
regarded by many as having Satanic origins.
In fact, it is symbol used by pagan religions
for thousands of years and was revered by the
Babylonians, the Celts and the early Greeks as
having protective qualities, which helped ward
off evil spirits. Incidentally, America’s highest
honour, the Medal of Honour, is an inverted
pentagram.
Gangs are solidly linked to ritual and
symbolism. Their colours, tattoos and other
paraphernalia are largely stolen from ageold traditions – many of them with strong
religious affiliations. And therein lies the real
irony – religions have for centuries placed
themselves as crusaders for good, how ironic
then that gangs have seen fit to adopt the
same religious symbolism.
The ruling means that Ray Bonner, 31, and
Steven (Tiger) Lindsay, 40, could face a maximum
of an additional 14 years in prison, according to a
report from Canadian news group CTV.
Defence argument
Defence lawyers attempted to argue that the
Ontario Hells Angels have no relationship with the
Quebec Hells Angels, but Fuerst concluded the
two are part of the same criminal organisation.
“It simply defies common sense that a group so
deeply involved with crimes in Quebec would have
any interest in establishing benign counterparts
in a neighbouring province,” Fuerst said in her
ruling.
Bonner and Lindsay tried to exhort $75,000 from
a Barrie man in 1992. By displaying the Hells
Angels insignia, Fuerst concluded they used the
organisation’s reputation for violence to help in
their extortion.
Law enforcement officials are calling the ruling a
major step forward in the fight against organised
crime.
Significant ruling
“The significance is that Judge Fuerst concludes
that the Hells Angels, as it exists in Canada,
constitutes a criminal organisation,” Ontario
Provincial Police Detective Inspector Don Bell
recently told The Globe newspaper.
“This will be very good case law in future
prosecutions,” he added. Steven Skurka,
Lindsay’s lawyer, said he will continue to fight the
ruling. “There is no doubt that the constitutionality
of the anti-gang laws will ultimately be decided by
the Supreme Court of Canada,” Skurka told The
Globe.
April 2006
73
POLICE COUNCIL OF SPORT
To contact the Police Council of Sport, call Alison Murray at the RNZPC. Ph: (04) 238-3139
Fry and Coleman take honours
at Police National Triathlon
Brigit Fry (Open Women) and Sam Coleman (Open Men) were first home in their
respective divisions of the Police National Triathlon held in Whakatane recently.
Fry, who clocked an impressive 1 hour 3 minutes and 14 seconds, beat Claire
Adkens (1.08.53) with Donalda Cromb, winner of the recent Wellington Police
Triathlon Championship, home third in 1.12.10.
Coleman, fresh from his success in the Wellington event, recorded 1.05.20 to
beat Tim Mills (1.06.20) with Craig Thorne home third in 1.09.06.
Wellington quinella
The Masters Men’s division (35-plus) resulted in a Wellington quinella when
Paul Baskett scorched through the course in 59 minutes and 37 seconds with
Ben Cornelius second in 1.02.15, two minutes and four seconds in front of
third placegetter, Ant Hay. The Veteran Men’s division (40-plus) saw a tight
race with Glen Turner (1.01.18) winning from Craig Prior (1.01.55) with Glen
Yule a meritorious third in 1.02.32.
The Masters Women’s (35-plus) event saw Andrea Mather draw away to win
comfortably in 1.04.10. Kerry Newton was a creditable second in 1.08.21
with Dorothy McPhail third in 1.12.36. The Veteran Women’s (40-plus) saw
another comfrotable winner in Deidre Lack (1.05.01), who beat Helen MahonStroud (1.09.21) and Stephanie De Vere (1.09.21), who had a great duel to
the finish line, into the minors.
Good margin
Martin Tunley won the Men’s Draft Horse (95 kgs plus) section in 1.12.56
from Alan Daley (1.15.07) with Neil Furlong third in 1.16.37.
Dave Simes, Jason Andrews and Jason Pope, who recorded a time of 58.20,
won the men’s team event. Nina Pedersen, Mihi Amoamo and Mandy Bell
won the women’s team in 1.05.59. The mixed team winners were Yvonne
Parker, George Wasterman and Mark Van Der Kley in 59.46.
• Paul Baskett (Wellington) – first home in the Open Men’s race.
• Mike Oxnam (left) provides commentary while Bruce Jenkins
assists.
• Deidre Lack (Te Puke) – first home in the Open Women’s race.
• Here’s where you go – competitors at the pre-race briefing.
Visit www.policeassn.org.nz for updated contact details for the Police Council of Sport management committee,
District Sports Officers and the latest schedule of events.
74
April 2006
Ne w Zealand Police Association
by Ricky Collins
Licensed to make
a killing
• Jillian Hemingway receives the major spot prize from Bruce Jenkins.
Discharge status: alive – but
without my permission
Hospitals are busy places and sometimes mistakes are made but we
wonder what the writer was thinking when he/she penned these notes on
the patient record charts.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
The patient refused an autopsy.
The patient has no previous history of suicides.
Patient has left white blood cells at another hospital.
She has no rigours or shaking chills, but her husband states she was
very hot in bed last night.
Patient has chest pain if she lies on her left side for over a year.
On the second day the knee was better, and on the third day it
disappeared.
The patient is tearful and crying constantly. She also appears to be
depressed.
The patient has been depressed since she began seeing me in
1993.
Discharge status: Alive but without my permission.
Healthy appearing decrepit 69-year old male, mentally alert but
forgetful.
Patient had waffles for breakfast and anorexia for lunch.
She is numb from her toes down.
While in ER, she was examined, x-rated and sent home.
The skin was moist and dry.
Occasional, constant infrequent headaches.
Patient was alert and unresponsive.
Rectal examination revealed a normal size thyroid.
She stated that she had been constipated for most of her life, until she
got a divorce.
I saw your patient today, who is still under our car for physical therapy.
Both breasts are equal and reactive to light and accommodation.
Examination of genitalia reveals that he is circus sized.
The lab test indicated abnormal lover function.
Skin: somewhat pale but present.
The pelvic exam will be done later on the floor.
The patient has two teenage children but no other abnormalities.
Correction
In the March issue of Police News it was incorrectly stated that five
positions had been advertised to create a Bay of Plenty Organised
Crime Unit and that only one application had been received. What
it should have said is that only one application had been received
for the D/S position – which is one of three positions, the other two
being detective positions. Bay of Plenty requested authorisation to
advertise nationally for the detectives but was turned down. The
D/S position was advertised nationally, the detectives’ positions by
way of the district bullyboard. There were three applicants for the
detective positions and the appointments have all been made.
I get increasingly annoyed these days when
I dine out. It seems many restaurant owners
have left the selection of their wines to one wine
distributor, and the pricing of the wines to their
accountant. The result is that the wine list is not
only unimaginative but also over-priced.
When you have a look at who is involved in the wine industry, the share of
profit is certainly not based on the risk-versus-return principle. At the front
end, wine producers invest significant capital into producing a product
that has all the risks associated with growing and harvesting a crop. The
distributor invests heavily in holding, marketing and distributing stock, and
provides credit to wholesalers and retailers. At the end of the chain though
sits the restaurant owner, who by my reckoning makes a disproportionate
profit on the wine they sell. While they have a return to make on the
investment they’ve made in their business, they have virtually no risk with
regard to the wine. Many restaurants are supplied wine on a single bottle
replacement arrangement, which means they’re not holding huge stock,
and the customer pays by cash or approved credit on the night.
Restaurant pricing
Many restaurants price their wines on the basis of either three times cost,
or twice the recommended retail price. This will see them often get a
return of 200% on the wine they sell. While I have no problem with this
approach to wine sold by the glass, this level of margin seems excessive
for wine sold by the bottle, as there is virtually no risk. Any wine that is
faulty can be returned to the distributor for a credit.
So what can we the consumer do about it? There are a few cafe and
restaurant owners who are now taking a different approach to pricing their
wine. They see increased turnover as a better option and set more realistic
margins on their wine, with the aim of driving up patronage. Locally here
in Dunedin, I know of two restaurants that also retail wine who take this
approach. Rhubarb Cafe in Roslyn add $5 to their retail price if you wish
to drink the wine on site, and Cableways Tavern and Restaurant in
Kaikorai Valley add $3 to any bottle that you wish to take through from
the bottle store to the dining room. They call this concept CYO (choose
your own) rather than BYO. Why not look around and seek out cafes and
restaurants that take a similar approach and give them your patronage.
Better still, tell the restaurant owner that still puts a 200% profit margin
on his wine that you are and why.
Wine of the month
Kirrihill Companions Shiraz 2002
RRP $15
For those of you who enjoy big, rich,
larger than life Australian Shiraz, this
wine is a must. This full-bodied wine
has those familiar spicy plum and
chocolate flavours, firm tannins and
a lingering sweet finish. The extra
age in the bottle has taken the edge
off it, but left all of the flavours intact.
It’s a great value for money wine
that’s best enjoyed on its own, but if
you insist on matching it to food, try
it alongside a blood dripping chunky
rump steak.
April 2006
75
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Widow of slain
officer sues
cold remedy
companies
In a legal action, which if successful, could have
widespread implications for drug companies,
the widow of a slain American police officer
has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a
number of large companies who make and/or
sell pseudoephedrine.
Linda Green claims in the Cotton County
lawsuit that drug companies and suppliers including Pfizer, Wal-Mart, Walgreen, Dollar
General and United Supermarkets - knew
methamphetamine addicts were buying the
drug to get high and not to treat a cold.
She also charges makers knew how to make
the pseudoephedrine tablets without allowing
drug addicts to extract the ingredients needed
to make methamphetamine.
“The reason for filing this suit is to hold those
people accountable for what they’ve done, not
just to Nik Green and his family (but for) every
other person in the United States who’s been
impacted,” said Gary James, an Oklahoma
City attorney representing Linda Green.
The suit also names Ricky Ray Malone,
who was convicted of murdering Oklahoma
Highway Patrol trooper Nikky Joe Green.
Malone was high on methamphetamine
during the December 2003 shooting. A mobile
methamphetamine lab was found in Malone’s
car.
No comment
A spokesman for Walgreen said the company
doesn’t comment on pending litigation. Dan
Fogleman, a Wal-Mart spokesman, said the
company implemented a voluntary sales
limitation policy in February 1997 of over-thecounter cold products.
“Wal-Mart supports efforts to curb the problem
of methamphetamine,” he said. “This is an
issue that affects the country, and we want to
do our part to help.”
Also named as defendants in the suit are Leiner
Health Products, LNK International, Perrigo,
Chain Drug Marketing Association, Good
Neighbor Pharmacy and R&S Drug Stores.
James said the stores were named because
Malone purchased cold medications there.
The suit states companies enjoyed increases
in cold medication sales at the same time
methamphetamine became popular.
“However, instead of taking responsible steps
to stop or alleviate the individual and societal
damage caused by the illegal use of their
products, the product dealers chose to increase
production and sales to exploit profits created
by the skewed demand for pseudoephedrine,”
the suit states.
James said the companies have made up to
$60 billion in cold medication sales.
76
April 2006
Preparing to live the good life
If you’re a baby boomer who is a bit daunted by the path ahead
to retirement, take heart. You’re approaching retirement at a
very exciting time. You are going to have more lifestyle options
and new ways to fund your life after work, but you need to be
smart and make the right decisions now (because making the
wrong ones could really hurt later on).
This is what you need to do:
1. Know what the good life means
to you.
Give your dreams flesh and bones because it will make it easier to make lots of other decisions.
If you could see retirement as a beginning, what would you do? The average life expectancy for
those born after 1960 has now hit 85. If you enjoyed good health and lived until then, where
would you go and when? How would you fill your days? Who would you spend time with? Where
do you want to live? Does your partner feel the same? Find out what they want to do.
2. Get pragmatic about money
Realistically work out how much you expect to retire on, given the age at which you and your
partner want to stop working full-time. Then ask yourself what sort of lifestyle you realistically
need to achieve. What do you expect to be different between how you live today and how you
will live when you give up working full time? Will there be a gap in the cost of your lifestyle in
retirement compared to when you are working? If there is a gap, you need to get on to it, but don’t
panic. Remember you’re part of a generation that has more options than ever before.
Get some financial advice to check the numbers and work out the best options for you and your
family going forward – but make sure it’s from someone who is qualified. Friends or someone you
met at a barbecue don’t count! Think about the things you really want to do and what is important
to you. Then start working on the numbers.
3. Look after your health (and your relationships)
Both the quality and ever escalating cost of healthcare are becoming issues around the world. Do
what you can now to promote better health later on – reduce weight if you know you need to, look
at your diet and maintain a regular exercise programme.
Divorce statistics have jumped significantly in this age group over the last decade. Do what it
takes to look after the people you want to retire with, develop some interests and ensure you have
a strong social network to retire into.
4. Remember the golden rules of wise investment
-
get good investment advice;
-
high returns come hand in hand with high risk. Likewise be very careful of tax avoidance
schemes – always get independent advice from someone who is not promoting them; and
-
diversify your investments.
5. Be careful about lending your hard-earned money to friends and
family. Emotion and money generally don’t go well together.
If you’re in your 40s…you’re in a good position because you have more time to plan so don’t
muck around, get in touch with a financial adviser.
If you’re in your 50s…your goal needs to be to maximize your income and savings before
retirement because the more money you’ve got, the more choices you will have.
We’ve outlined what to do but to get down to the real nitty gritty of how to do it, see a professional
financial adviser to work through the issues. It is invariably a case of “you don’t know what you
don’t know”, but a good adviser will.
As long as you have a definite plan tucked under one arm, go for gold and get ready to live the life
you aspire to.
To speak to a Spicers adviser about your situation, call the Police Financial Planning
Enquiry Line on 0800 ON BEAT (0800 66 2328).
Ne w Zealand Police Association
Stop press:
Vicious assaults on police officers
As this issue went to press Police in Whakatane and Auckland were dealing
with three vicious assaults on police officers.
Eastern Bay of Plenty Police were looking for a patched Mongrel Mob member,
Justin Raki, in relation to a serious assault on a police officer in Whakatane.
A warrant has been issued for Raki’s arrest for aggravateed assault and
escaping police custody.
Raki is known to be P user.
Routine stop
Police News understands an officer was the victim of a serious assault after
a routine road policing stop was instigated on a car containing two gang
members.
Three Auckland officers were also injured in two separate attacks. A constable
had the tip of his right ring finger severed after a man, wanted for running a
red light, allegedly attacked him and his partner. His partner received bruising
and abrasions after being repeatedly kicked in the chest. It eventually took
several officers to subdue the alleged assailant. The constable’s finger, which
has been bitten off, was found at the scene but could not be reattached.
Dog handler injured
An Auckland dog handler and his dog were also injured after a man with
outstanding arrest warrants allegedly attacked them with a hammer after
attempting to flee. The dog handler suffered head injuries and his dog
required surgery after being hit on the nose with the hammer.
Police Association President, Greg O’Connor said: “These incidents are a reminder
to us all that our core job involves dealing with dangerous people and that the
focus must always be on providing as much protection and support as possible
for our frontline officers.”.
Age of criminal responsibility
to be debated
• The Police Pipe Band marks its 75th anniversary by entertaining Wellingtonians on the
band’s march to Parliament recently, which coincided with the 120th anniversary of policing
and the 50th anniversary of the Police Dog Section.
- Photo courtesy of Wellington Police Forensic Photography.
New Zealand First MP Ron Mark is thrilled
that his Private Members’ Bill, which will seek
to make the age of criminal responsibility 12
years of age, has been drawn from the ballot.
He says it will ensure the issue of children
committing a range of crimes will be seriously
debated.
The Bill proposes an extension to the range
of offences, which can be heard by the Youth
Court.
Under current legislation, children cannot
be prosecuted until they are 14 years of
age, except for capital offences such as
manslaughter and murder.
Mark’s original Bill proposed lowering that
age to 10, although he has softened his stance
and will change that to 12.
A condition in Labour’s support agreement
with New Zealand First means it is required to
support the Bill to the select committee stage
but whether that support will be continued
beyond that stage seems doubtful. Opposition
parties have tentatively indicated they may
support the Bill.
HOLIDAY HOME AVAILABILITY
– for bookings see: www.policeassn.org.nz
April
May
June
PAIHIA............................................ 10,25-26 .......................................................7-9, 15-17, 21-23, 27-29 ........................................4-6, 10-12,14-15, 20-30
STANMORE BAY ............................. 9-13, 17, 23 –27, 30 ......................................1-11, 14 –19, 21-25, 27-31.....................................1-10, 13-31
AUCKLAND .................................... Not available ..................................................1, 8-11, 14-16, 22-24, 28, 30-31 ............................1, 5-8, 11, 13-16,21-22, 25-27
WHANGAMATA ............................... 17-21, 27.......................................................3-4, 7-11, 15-18, 21- 25,28-31 ..............................1-3, 5-29
MT MAUNGANUI ............................ 9,13,28 ..........................................................1- 4, 7 –11, 14-18, 21-26,29-31 .............................1, 5-9, 11-16, 18-22, 24-30
OHOPE........................................... 10, 17, 30 ......................................................1-4, 8, 12, 14-18, 22- 31 .........................................1-30
ROTORUA ...................................... 12, 26-27, 30.................................................1-5,7-11, 14-17, 21-25, 28-31................................1, 5-7, 11-30
TAUPO ........................................... 10,27 .............................................................4, 7-9, 16-18, 21-25, 28-31 ....................................1, 5-30
TURANGI ........................................ 9-13, 25-30 ...................................................1-12, 14-25, 28-31 .................................................1-8, 11-29
NAPIER .......................................... 13, 30 ............................................................1-4, 7-8, 11, 17-18, 21-31 ......................................1, 5-29
PARAPARAUMU .............................. 7, 25,27, ........................................................2-4, 8-11, 14-18, 21-24, 29 ....................................1, 5-15, 18-22, 26-30
GREYTOWN.................................... 9-11, 13, 23-25 .............................................1-2, 4,7-8, 15-18, 21-23, 25, 28-31 ........................1, 6-8, 11-15, 18-22, 26-29
WELLINGTON ................................. 13,23,26-27 .................................................3-4, 8,10, 14,16,21-23, 28-29.................................1,5-8, 13-16,19-20,25-29
NELSON......................................... 11, ................................................................7-31 ........................................................................1, 5-30
HANMER SPRINGS ......................... 17-18, 20-21, 27 ...........................................2, 8-9, 14, 17-18, 21-23, 25-26, 29.........................13-15, 18-22, 25-27
CHRISTCHURCH ............................. 10, 30 ............................................................1-11, 14-15, 18-20, 24-25, 30-31 ...........................1, 7, 13, 15, 18-20, 22,28-29
TEKAPO ......................................... 8,12,30 ..........................................................3-4, 8-11,14,16-18,22-26, 28-31............................1, 5-8, 11-12, 18-23, 26-30
WANAKA ........................................ 10,24,30 ........................................................3-4, 7-19, 21, 24, 26-31 ..........................................1,5-7, 10-16, 18-20, 23-28
CROMWELL ................................... 30, .................................................................1-4, 7-9, 14-18, 21-25, 28-31 .................................1-6, 11-14, 18-22,
QUEENSTOWN ............................... Not available ..................................................Not available ............................................................1, 9,11-12,
TE ANAU ........................................ 9,12,1-29 ......................................................2-8,10-25, 27-31 ....................................................15-29
DUNEDIN ....................................... 11, 19-20, .....................................................1,4,7-10 17, 23, 25, 28-31 ......................................1, 5-28
April 2006
77
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
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.
One chance at a first impression
Theirs an old saying: “You get one chance to
make a first impression.”
My brother (not in the job) has the misfortune
of residing in “Blues” territory. I currently
reside in the land where a “Hurricane” is a
gentle breeze, and an average weekend involves
36,000 people dressing in costume partying in
a structure resembling a food container.
My brother was recently the victim of a
daytime weekend burglary. His wife lost
$25,000 worth of very unique jewelry, most
of which was purchased overseas. It was
their first experience as victims of crime, and
needless to say has had the flow on effects of
stress, anxiety, anger and fear, for them both.
He rang me shortly after the burglary, told me
the details, and mentioned he had called the
Police and was expecting a visit from them
anytime soon. (Those of you from Auckland
already know where this is going!). He had a
full set of recent photos of the jewelry stored
on a disc.
I mentioned Auckland seem to be always
chasing their tails so he may want to take his
photos around the pawn shops himself. Any
positive results from these inquiries are always
greatly appreciated by the Police.
Sometime later that day, he received a call from
a member who took the full details over the
phone and stated a form for insurance would
be sent in the post. No mention of a scene
examination, security advice, reassurance,
potential inquiries the Police or he could carry
out, what to do with photos, etc.
Four days later he contacted me and
mentioned the Police had not turned up and
he was wondering what he should do? He had
left disturbed items as they were.
I made some checks. No one I spoke to in
Auckland could find anything in the system.
I thought this was strange as his neighbour
was burgled on the same day, with even more
stolen, and their address didn’t return any
matches either.
Eventually the files were found in a deep pile
- four days after the event.
If an offender had been tipped out during those
four days and property located I guarantee
nothing would have come of it.
My brother is unimpressed by all this. I must
say that I’m embarrassed that our organisation
has been so ineffectual.
I have no qualms with any of the staff involved
on this job. The problem is obviously around
staffing and I’ll always support boosting staff
numbers in any district – as its obvious we are
short-staffed everywhere!
78
April 2006
One big problem I have is with the ‘bright
ideas’ some of the bosses have to be more
efficient with less staff.
Auckland, you will not be more efficient by
taking 90% of your burglary complaints over
the phone. (An Auckland member quoted this
figure to me).
New staff won’t develop and hone their skills
if they don’t get to attend these basic jobs. Sure
these jobs get monotonous but they are our
bread and butter. Do them right, get the odd
catch, learn to talk to people and ask the right
questions, and you will develop the skills,
instincts, and hunches etc that will flow onto
any area of policing. Don’t learn these vital
skills and you might as well be serving burgers
at McDonalds.
As any employment expert will tell you, if you
spend more time doing it right then in turn you
will have more time to do the right things.
Using the Auckland method, burglars will
get away with more and in turn you will have
more burglaries, and eventually your burglary
desks will need more staff. And where will
they come from? No doubt off the street.
Lance Kennedy
(Wellington)
Holiday homes and deja vu
I couldn’t agree more with Graeme when he
says that the units are extremely good value
for money. Some members seem to have lost
sight of the fact that the holiday homes are still
about half the price of staying in a motel. So
to those who abuse the privilege by not taking
the time to think of others, who are also intent
on enjoying their break away, can I say this:
Let the moths out and spring for a few toilet
rolls, the next guests might have had curry
too.
Tom Robbie
(Wellington)
Money, money, money!
I am glad to hear that the Police Association
has managed to secure a deal, which allows for
time and a half on public holidays, but what
concerns me is that we have become so used
to being fed peanuts, that we think it is a good
deal. Three years ago, when the pay round
was seen as a resounding success for securing
2% and 2.5% annual increases, I was taken
aback to think that most members I spoke to
thought it was a good deal. I am taken aback
even further considering inflation was 3% last
year. It doesn’t take a mathematician to see
that things aren’t adding up to a prosperous,
rosy future.
As a former Manager of the Police Welfare
Fund, Graeme Rowe’s letter about the holiday
homes (January/February Police News) brought
both a sense of deja vu and amusement to
me.
I could ask the same old question about: “When
is someone at the top going to see the light,
that money is the key to staff retention, morale
and recruiting”? But that doesn’t seem to have
sparked an interest from anyone at the top in
the past, so here it is in plain English:
The issues he raised were all too familiar and
are obviously as prevalent today as they were
20 years or more ago. One family I remember
used six toilet rolls during a one-night stay – it
must have been some curry!
We need more money in the form of a decent
pay increase to bring us back into line with the
growing cost of inflation! We need more money
to stem the mass exodus of experienced staff!
Graeme’s letter reminded me of problems we
had with the complaints books in the two
Taupo units. The units were identical in every
way and yet the book in unit two was always
full of complaints while the book in unit
one was, by comparison, spartan in terms of
entries. So we took the complaints book from
unit one and swapped it over with unit two
by way of experiment – and strange as it may
seem, that solved the problem.
Even though there was a strict policy of no
pets in the units one bloke decided he was
above this rule and when the caretaker called
he discovered the chap had set up a kids’ play
pen, with the dog inside it – in the middle of
the lounge!
The issues around light bulbs, toilet rolls and all
those other things that Graeme canvassed in his
letter are obviously generational. At one time
we took the complaints books out of the units
solely because the pads kept getting nicked.
We need more money to attract the right
people into the job in the first place! You
guessed it; we need more money in the form
of penal rates for not only public holidays but
overtime too! (Because a shift worker’s meal
allowance just doesn’t cut it!).
It is my hope that this year someone will lift
their game at the negotiating table, so that
we are not waiting three more years for postelection political power negotiations to give us
a break! I see our brothers and sisters in South
Australia and New South Wales just got a pay
rise in the order of 20%. If the Association
here isn’t up to the task of negotiating with the
bosses then maybe we should bring in some
ringers from Aussie to do our bidding.
And my apologies to the keyboard for the
overuse of the exclamation mark!
Nick Bowie
(Hamilton)
Ne w Zealand Police Association
Phone information
Thanks for printing my letter in the October
issue of Police News. However, it did not get
the response that I was looking for. Why
cannot a 101, or its equivalent, be taken
over the phone, and a CAF (Complaint
Acknowledgement Form) sent from there? If
there are further inquiries to be made after
the phone call, then these can be made in due
course. The point that I was trying to make is
that the incidents must be recorded some time
and if the caller is told to come to the police
station to report minor matters, then these will
not be recorded, because the informant will
not bother. If the cops can’t accept phoned
information, why bother? But the incidents
will still be occurring.
A typical response is what happened to me
recently. I called the local station to report a
car that fitted the description of one wanted
for offences in Paraparaumu. I gave the colour,
registration number, and a description of the
vehicle. I was first put on to Porirua Station
and then on to Comms. The call taker in
Comms was all ears until I asked her to do a
QVR (Query Vehicle Registration). When she
did this, she then lost interest, saying: “The car
is not registered in this area, so it cannot be
the one we are looking for.” I had to explain
to her that cars do travel from area to area.
Soon after this, I noticed that the car was no
longer frequenting our area. I have no idea if
the information that I supplied was passed on
to the relevant section, probably not given the
response I received. Do we not have cops on
the phone in Comms now?
Geoff Benge
(Otaki)
The value of the GSF pension
I write to you about the benefits of belonging to
the GSF (Government Superannuation Fund)
and, in doing so, would like to endorse the
comments of Trevor Tozer (Letters, December
Police News). Like Trevor, I am also in my
seventies.
I have been receiving a retiring allowance or
Police pension for 18 years now. The pension
is portable. So, while I was residing in New
Zealand, my pension was paid to me and I also
received it when I lived in Queensland for 16
years.
I did not have to pay tax on my quarter lump
sum payments. Since retirement we have
been grateful to receive our allowance every
four weeks and my dual citizenship in both
New Zealand and Australia does not affect my
pension.
Under current IRD (Inland Revenue
Department) legislation, GSF allowances are
not assessable for tax purposes. The pension
also attracts cost of living adjustments.
Should I die before my wife she will receive
an annuity or pension, which is normally set
at half the pension I am receiving at the time
of my death. GSF pays this out. Police widows
have told me that this half pension certainly
helps.
As far as I can tell the NZ Government guarantees
my pension will be paid even if something goes
wrong with the administration of the fund.
I elected to join the GSF all those years ago and
I have no regrets. We have learned to live within
our income, but then, I was taught to be cautious
with financial matters.
I am thankful for the efforts of people like Bob
Moodie (former Secretary of the NZ Police
Association) as well as current President, Greg
O’Connor, and all the Association’s support
staff.
and often records the names of those who
died prematurely after retirement. Therefore,
they have not received their TR packages as
they have not received the Commissioner’s
contribution. At the time of retirement, we
constables had pay parity with backbench
MPs. For nine years under the National
Government we did not get any pay increases
yet those on higher salaries continued to get
their CPI (Cost Price Index) adjustments. We
constables now earn about 50% less than a
backbench MP.
Those of higher rank at time of retirement get
a pension based upon an average of their last
five years of service so would find that their
pension provides a good standard of living.
However, a retired commissioned officer,
who dies prematurely after retirement, would
therefore have been denied an even greater
portion of his/her TR package.
I think a lot of members capitalise their super
to ensure that they get their hands on what
is their savings. A number of members stay
on after 55 years and capitalise because they
cannot receive their pension entitlement and
remain working.
John Fittock
(Christchurch)
Look local and be open minded
Berny Bowerman
(Waihi)
Superannuation and
the value of hindsight
I was interested in the letters from Trevor
Tozer and Bob Silk in recent issues of Police
News concerning superannuation and what
they said makes sense. However, I think both
may have retired prior to the arbitrary 30%
reduction implemented by then Minister of
Police, Richard Prebble.
I still think that what he did was a breach of the
NZ Bill of Rights Act (1990) section 27 – which
pertains to The Right to the Observance of the
Principles of Natural Justice – and that a sound
civil case could be proved. Superannuation in
New Zealand is treated as “savings” and not
“earnings”. The 1998 pay round decision,
which went to final offer arbitration, was that
the Commissioner’s contribution forms part of
your TR (Total Remuneration) package.
Every publication lists an obituary column
As I read the Police News, March 2006, I am
sure I could be excused for thinking that I
was reading more of the same. There were,
however, a couple of small differences;
amazingly Greg O’Connor wasn’t hammering
on about drugs in the gospel according to
the President. That topic was well and truly
discussed, as usual, later in the magazine,
and two past members were rightly given the
recognition they deserved.
After reading about the late Paddy Darroch
and John Hughes I continued trolling my way
through the “Voice of Police”. It struck me
that there seemed to be a disproportionate
amount of American-based news articles.
This prompted a quick count up only to
find 11 USA-related articles. I asked myself
the question; is the New Zealand Police
Association so short of news, or the ability to
report it, we have to fill our communication
with voluminous amounts of clap trap from
the USA?
Useful Information & Contacts
Association and Police Welfare Fund:
Immediate industrial & legal advice
0800 TEN NINE (0800 836 6463) (only for
matters that cannot be deferred such as Police
shootings, fatal pursuits or deaths in custody).
Police Network
Freephone
Police Health Plan/Staffpac Insurance
Quotes & information
or Fax
Staffpac claims
All enquiries
Vice Presidents
0800 500 122
(04) 496 6819
0800 110 088
(04) 496 6800
Website
Police Home Loans
Police Credit Union
Credit Union
GSF information
PSS information
www.policeassn.org.nz
0800 800 808
0800 429 000
or (04) 472 9645
www.policecu.org.nz
0800 654 731
0800 777 243
Regional Directors
Stuart Mills
Richard Middleton
(027) 268 9416
(027) 268 9411
Field Officers
Northland and Auckland Districts:
Waikato, BOP and Eastern Districts:
Central and Wellington Districts:
Tasman, Canterbury and Southern Districts:
44446
0800 500 122
Stewart Mills
Eric Newman
JJ Taylor
Dave McKirdy
(027) 268 9407
(027) 268 9408
(027) 268 9409
(027) 268 9410
Region One
Region Two
Region Three
Region Four
Region Five
Region Six
Region Seven
Steve Hawkins
Mark Leys
Mel Ridley
Chris Cahill
Ron Lek
Craig Prior
Dave Steel
Whangaparoa
Papatoetoe
Tauranga
Napier
Wellington
Sumner
North Dunedin
(027) 268 9419
(027) 268 9413
(027) 268 9414
(027) 268 9415
(027) 268 9417
(027) 268 9412
(027) 268 9418
April 2006
79
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Do we care if the Gwinett Sheriff has a restored
armoured command vehicle or the County
Sheriff’s Office has returned property after 29
years? I know these are what the media gurus
call “public interest” stories and one or two per
edition may be quite acceptable. When you
get to the number we are presented with, it
would seem, in my humble opinion, that the
Editor is short of material therefore takes the
short cut. This “Voice of Police” would appear
to be domiciled in some far off shore.
Rather than offer just the standard “Association
moan” here is some constructive feedback.
Things that I, and other like thinking members
have spoken about and would like to see in the
“Voice of the Police”; more on industrial issues,
a wider range of crime matters discussed apart
from just drugs, how police can do a better
job with what we have, responsibilities of
members as well as the organisation, what
projects the Association working on at present
and possibly some editorials on local issues.
One final thought - Greg (President) and
Steve (Editor), yes we all agree drugs are an
issue and need addressing, along with lots
of other crime types, but sometimes it takes
someone from outside the inner workings of
the publication to point out that each issue
appears now to be more of the same, drugs
and the USA Police.
Pat Tasker
(Eastern Bay of Plenty)
Thanks for your letter Pat. As you will
be aware, many industrial issues can’t be
published due to their sensitive/confidential
nature, but where possible we endeavour to
keep members informed of ongoing issues.
As an Area Commander, Pat, you will be
aware that NZ Police does not operate in
a vacuum - it takes cogniscance of what is
happening internationally. News relating
to overseas jurisdictions appears in the
magazine to reflect that global policing
environment. The recent features on Tasers
and methamphetamine were produced
within that context. The other articles you
mention were minor fillers you will find in
any newspaper or magazine in the world
– granted, they may not be to everyone’s
taste – but as Abraham Lincoln said: “You
can please some of the people some of the
time but not all of the people all of the time.”
The fight against illicit drugs and organised
crime is a serious one, which members and
the Association feel strongly about and
the articles have reflected this concern.
Similarly, other issues affecting members
such as the Comms staff shortages, body
armour, the Fund the Frontline campaign,
the issue of remand prisoners in police cells
have had their genesis through Police News
articles and then been picked up by the
mainstream media – exposure, which has,
hopefully, contributed to changes and the
betterment of our members’ wellbeing and
working conditions. As Editor, I feel those
serious issues also need to be balanced by
some levity and lighter stuff from time to
time. If by publishing a filler about SAT
tests, a seven-year-old trying to get his
driver’s licence or yes, even the Gwinett
County Sheriff getting a tank, can bring a
smile or some discussion to police officers
having a cuppa (that’s presuming they even
have the time for one) on late shift or at any
other time, then I will have achieved the
balance I am seeking. – Editor.
Long service disparity
Can the Police Association please explain to
me why is it non-sworn staff receive long
service leave after 14 years yet sworn police
officers receive long service leave after 21 years
service?
This is not a dig at non-sworn (they deserve it
after 14) but more an attempt to understand
why sworn officers don’t get their long service
at the same time.
It would seem to me that sworn should receive
it after 14 years. It is at this point you become
a senior constable and are given an extra stripe
on your shoulder and with that comes more
responsibility, both internally and externally.
Yet, financially, you receive nothing for it.
Also, as the pay round negotiations are not
too far away from beginning, isn’t it time staff
are allowed to vote on any agreements via the
Email system?
I know that the Association wants to fully
inform the staff before they decide but what’s
wrong with providing the information to us by
Email and in seminars and letting us decide
for ourselves regarding ratifying agreements
between the Association and administration.
At the moment, it appears that minority voting
is deciding for the majority.
I know everybody should turn up to the
meetings but sometimes this is not possible.
Surely, if we have a higher voting turnout then
the Association can be confident that whatever
decision is reached would more fairly represent
what the majority of staff want.
Steve Hales
(Papamoa)
Thanks for your letter Steve. In 1998 a
claim was advanced by the Association to
reduce the qualifying period for both sworn
and non-sworn LSL from 20 to 14 years.
We chose 14 years for the very reason you
identified – senior constable status.
The sworn pay round was resolved by
arbitration but at that time all leave matters
were not able to be submitted to arbitration
unless Police agreed for this to happen.
Police did not allow for the LSL issue to be
decided by arbitration. They sought to have
the change funded by a reduction in the
annual leave entitlement. The Association
couldn’t agree to this so LSL remained at
21 years. At the same time we managed to
reduce the qualifying period for non-sworn
LSL with no trade off, mainly due to the fact
that the cost of the change was much smaller
for non-sworn compared to sworn.
Voting systems have been debated at length
within the Association over the past few
years. It is acknowledged that there are
many valid arguments for Email voting, as
there are for meetings. We have continued
with the meeting approach primarily
due to the fact that the issues of pay and
conditions can be multifaceted and a true
understanding and appreciation can best
be achieved through meetings with the
negotiator fronting in person. Some singleissue variations to the collective agreements
can and are being voted on electronically.
Greg Fleming (Industrial Advocate)
Have you moved recently?
If you have or perhaps are about to, please let
us know so we can update your records.
You can do this by:
• writing to us at PO Box 12344;
• calling us on free phone 0800 500 122;
• faxing us on (04) 496 6819; or
• emailing us at;
[email protected]
You need to let us know your membership
number, new address and if you’re a serving
member - your new station.
CHP in shock after six deaths in five months
The head of the California Highway Patrol
recently called for a department-wide
emergency review of safety policies after the
on-the-job deaths of six officers in the last five
months - the most recent struck last month by
a suspected drunk driver in the Cajon Pass.
Calling the string of deaths unprecedented,
CHP Commissioner Michael Brown told The
Los Angeles Times that all patrol officers in the
state would be debriefed to determine whether
immediate changes are needed in department
policy to prevent additional fatalities.
80
April 2006
Officials said the last time the CHP was so shaken
was in 1970, when four officers were killed in a
shootout in Santa Clarita.
agreed that the department had not kept
up with growth in state population or vehicle
traffic.
1964 worst year
Overall, fewer law enforcement officers have
been killed each year nationally than in past
decades. During the 1970’s an average of 220
officers were killed each year, compared with
about 160 a year in the 1990s - a downturn
credited to better training and the use of body
armour.
The most CHP fatalities in one year came in 1964,
when eight officers were killed - five in traffic
accidents and three run over by vehicles.
There are about 7,200 uniformed officers in the
CHP, about two-thirds assigned to patrol state
roadways. Though CHP officials and experts said
it was difficult to pinpoint any specific causes
for so many deaths in the last few months, they
In 2005, 153 law enforcement officers were
killed nationwide – 17 were from California.