The Voice of Police
VOLUME 41 • NUMBER 10 • NOVEMBER 2008
No piece of cake
but history made
with Policing Act
■ BRYONY BROWN – ONE TOUGH ‘WESTIE’
■ POLICE REMEMBRANCE DAY MARKED NATIONWIDE
■ EULOGY GIVES POIGNANT REMINDER OF THE EVILS OF DRUGS
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
The Voice of Police
VOLUME 41
41 • N
NUMBER
NUMB
ER 10 • NOVEMBER
NOVEMBER 2008
008
NZ Police Association Police News is the magazine of
the New Zealand Police Association and incorporates the
New Zealand Police Journal first published in 1937.
Editor: Steve Plowman
November 2008, Vol. 41, No.10
ISSN 1175-9445
Deadline for next issue Monday, November 17, 2008.
Published by the New Zealand Police Association
P.O. Box 12344, Willbank House, 57 Willis Street, Wellington.
Phone: (04) 496 6800, Facsmile: (04) 471 1309
248
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.policeassn.org.nz
MEDAL FOR MUSEUM
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
From the President
243
Bryony Brown determined to come back from ‘outrageous fortune’ 244/5
Remembrance Day services honour police killed on duty
252
SHOULDER HIGH WE BRING YOU HOME
Coppers crossword
247
NZ Police Roll of Honour 1886-2008
248
Vehicles not guns the major ‘line of duty’ killer in USA
248
Association donates medal
248
Memorial Wall
248
Policing Act 2008 officially enacted on 1 October
249
Pay round update
250
Frontline staffing issues cross international borders
251
Poignant reminder of evils of drugs from Don Wilkinson’s mother
252
To an athlete dying young
253
Memorial honours NZ police officer’s work in Afghanistan
254
IN FOREIGN FIELDS
• Front page: Police Minister Annette King cuts a
commemorative cake to mark the historic passing of the
Policing Act, the first major overhaul of policing legislation
since the passing of the Police Act 1958. The ceremony was
held at the Royal NZ Police College recently. Police Welfare
Fund Manager Pete Hayes watches on in the background.
242
November 2008
246/7
254/5
Pilot scheme sees nurses placed in Manukau and Christchurch stations
255
Keen on Wine
257
Holiday home availability
257
View from the bottom
258
Sports News
260/1
Letters to the Editor
261/2
RTDs blamed for surge in alcohol-related deaths
263
Special accommodation offer for members visiting Wellington
263
Useful information and contacts
263
Pilot scheme aims at helping
mental health consumers – p255
New Zealand Police Association
“However, what we really need is not a party
which is promising high profile vote-catching
policies, but one that promises to give Police the
resources and powers to actually investigate and
lock up criminals.”
The thing I enjoy about pay rounds
and pay ratification meetings is the
opportunity to visit every corner of the
country to meet up with the troops. This
year was particularly interesting, as our
visits to the meetings had been preceded
by a plethora of emails, mostly negative,
about the offer.
government. Since law and order has
been high on voters’ radars, all the parties
sought to create policies that sounded
and looked good to the electorate. We
published all the parties’ law and order
manifestos last month and that should
give an idea of what we can expect from
the next government.
It’s a case of welcome to the e-world
where information, and more significantly disinformation, can travel quickly
and efficiently, well ahead of the facts.
It means that people arriving at a
ratification meeting to vote for or against
ratifying a pay settlement will have
received vastly differing information.
So it becomes extremely important that
our presentation of the facts be just that:
facts.
However, what we really need is not a
party which is promising high profile
vote-catching policies, but one that
promises to give Police the resources and
powers to actually investigate and lock
up criminals. In other words, take the
handbrake off Police and other justice
agencies like Corrections that deal
directly with criminals.
It is why a group of members tasked
with designing a new ratification model
which will involve secret ballots and a
minimum 60% for ratification, among
other things, also reiterated that members
had to attend meetings to vote. It’s not
a perfect system, but then we don’t live
in a perfect world. We hold multiple
meetings in most centres to ensure those
who want to have the opportunity to
vote, can.
So it was good to see those people who
did get to the meetings to vote. Let’s face
it, as we see the economy now receding,
the pay rise we all got this year starts to
look pretty reasonable.
By the time you read this, the election
will be over and we will know (or have
a fair idea) who will form the next
As I pointed out on a recent Sunday
interview, hamstringing Police from
taking decisive and direct action against
those who verbally abuse officers on the
street has inevitably led to those same
people believing they can physically
assault us. As we take an increasingly
multi-agency approach to controlling
crime, I can’t help thinking that the one
agency which is out of kilter with the rest
is the judiciary. It was they who decided
police had to take abuse as part of the
job. This is hardly a decision conducive
to building respect for the body tasked
with maintaining order in society.
There’s something wrong with a world
where taggers are more afraid of
being caught tagging a gang
pad than a police
station!
Watch out
for these
Just as the pub was closing, a police
officer noticed a man leaving the bar so
intoxicated that he could barely walk.
The man stumbled around the parking
lot for a few minutes while the officer
continued to observe quietly from his
parked patrol car just up the road.
After what seemed an eternity in which
he tried his keys on five different
vehicles, the man managed to find his
car and fall into it. He sat there for a few
minutes as a number of other patrons
left the bar and drove off. Finally, he
started the car, switched the wipers
on and off, even though it was a fine
summer night, flicked the indicators on
and off a couple of times, honked the
horn and then switched on the lights.
He moved the vehicle forward a metre
or two, reversed a little and then
remained still for a few more minutes
as some more of the other pub patrons’
vehicles left.
At last, when his was the only car in
the parking lot, he pulled out and
drove slowly down the road. The police
officer, having waited patiently all this
time, now started up his patrol car, put
on the flashing lights, pulled the man
over and administered a breathalyzer
test. To his amazement, the breathalyser
indicated no evidence that the man had
consumed any alcohol at all!
Dumbfounded, the officer said: “I’ll
have to ask you to accompany me to
the police station. This breathalyzer
equipment must be broken.”
“I doubt it,” said the truly proud patron.
“Tonight I’m the designated decoy.”
A new Olympic sport – putting your foot in your mouth
Well, the Beijing Olympics are over and,
by all accounts, both spectators and
competitors had a good time. There is
no doubt (judging by the comments
below), however, that some sports
commentators and one competitor
would sooner forget these Games, given
their comments below:
Dressage commentator: “This is really a
lovely horse and I speak from personal
experience since I once mounted her
mother.”
Paul Hamm, gymnast: “I owe a lot to
my parents, especially my mother and
father.”
Boxing analyst: “Sure there have been
injuries, and even some deaths in boxing,
but none of them really that serious.”
Softball announcer: “If history repeats
itself, I should think we can expect the
same thing again.”
can see it all over their faces.”
Soccer commentator: “Julian Dicks is
everywhere. It’s like they’ve got 11 Dicks
on the field.”
Tennis commentator: “One of the
reasons Andy is playing so well is that,
before the final round, his wife takes out
his balls and kisses them…Oh my God,
what have I just said?”
Basketball analyst: “He dribbles a lot and
the opposition doesn’t like it. In fact, you
November 2008
243
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Bryony Brown very determined to come
back from her ‘outrageous fortune’
By Steve Plowman, Editor, Police News
Helen Keller, who overcame deafness,
blindness and the ignorance of other
people to become an inspiration to
so many by virtue of her indomitable
spirit once said: “Keep your face to
the sunshine and you cannot see the
shadows.”
Bryony Brown, a West Auckland police
officer, who had her own brand of
‘outrageous fortune’ when almost killed
by a drunk-driver in early August, has
just such an attitude. She is engaged
in a lengthy battle back to health after
a series of operations to repair severe
injuries she sustained when crushed
between her own and the drunk driver’s
vehicle.
The accident happened less than two
kilometres from the Henderson Police
Station where she works on section.
Laughter the best medicine
Bryony hasn’t lost her sense of humour.
“I’ve come to realise if it wasn’t me, it
may have been someone else and they
may not have been so lucky to have had
such a big bottom like mine, which took
most of the impact, and they may have
been in a far worse predicament than
me,” she said shortly after the accident.
She said that her body felt as if it was
“popping and cracking like plastic
bubble wrap” when she was pinned
between the two vehicles. She remembers hearing sirens, apparently
coming from every direction. Many
of her colleagues were soon on hand
to offer words of support or in some
cases, prayers. “One of the comforting
things was seeing blue everywhere as
my colleagues arrived on the scene,”she
said.
Even facing the prospect of not knowing
whether she would walk again, Brown
retained a sense of humour in the face
of appalling adversity. At the scene she
asked for a rum and coke and quizzed
those present if reparation could be
sought for her cigarettes, which had
been crushed in her back pocket.
She is making steady progress – progress
that has, nevertheless, astounded the
medicos. Originally, it was expected
244
November 2008
that she could be in a wheelchair until
just before Christmas. But Christmas has
come early for Bryony by virtue of her
own determination to make rehab work
for her and she has traded in the confines
of the wheelchair for crutches and is as
“pleased as Punch” to be walking again.
She triumphantly announced to Police
News during a recent interview that she
was looking forward to “throwing away
my crutches by Christmas too”. Light
duties, she says, beckon.
18 months out of College
Bryony, who graduated from Police
College some 18 months ago, says
policing is a job she should have done
“much earlier” and despite undergoing
several surgeries and facing a long bout
of rehabilitation she remains upbeat
about making a full recovery.
Brown, 30, is involved in an intensive
24/7 rehabilitation programme, which
consumes many of her waking hours.
Her total focus is on getting back to
work. She lives and breathes policing.
“Every time I hear a police siren go by I
think to myself ‘that should be me out
there,’ ” she said.
Her Section 6 workmates and her other
Police colleagues at Henderson have
been hugely supportive. “They call me
Broken-arse Bryony,” she jokes, adding
that they have been “awesome, hugely
supportive, not only now but during
my first 18 months in the job too.”
Her reliance on painkillers is diminishing with time. “Except on the bad
days when I may have tended to overdo
things a bit with the rehab.”
Rehab
Rehab consists of “heaps of acupuncture,
hydrotherapy, osteopathy, water walking
and physiotherapy.”
The long-term prognosis is looking
good. There will be the inevitable aches
and pains of course, but the rehab
specialists say that Bryony should make
a full recovery in 12-18 months.
Jaeden, Bryony’s youngest son, was
due to have his second birthday party
the week that Bryony was crushed but
that had to be delayed until last month.
Brown had missed his first birthday
because she was training at the Police
College at the time but, was determined
not to miss his second. Jaeden and his
three and a half-year-old brother Kaige
were somewhat perplexed to find that
they suddenly had to visit Mum in
hospital.
“It threw them for a bit seeing me
in a hospital bed but they loved the
wheelchair and they love the crutches
too,” she told Police News. “When I was
in hospital they went a bit funny and
were very upset and stand-offish but
now they’re fine,” she added. As if to
reflect the fragility of a child’s thinking
on such serious matters, Bryony admits
that if she is not there to pick them up
from day care then they immediately
assume she is in hospital.
Progress
While progress may be as much as one
small step for Bryony, such events are
one giant step for Kaige who is hugely
supportive of his Mum’s progress.
Recently, Bryony managed one small
step to get to her bed and Kaige quickly
inquired: “Mum you’re walking,
does that mean you’re better now?”,
obviously having perceived that the
crutches meant Mum was sick and that
even just one step without them meant
she was well again.
When a police car roars past their home
Kaige is equally supportive: “Mum are
you going to be getting in there again
soon?” It seems to be working. Bryony
Brown is one motivated police officer,
forcing herself to go the extra mile with
her rehabilitation so that she can get back
to the job she feels so passionate about.
Former non-sworn staffer
A former non-sworn member at
Henderson Intel before “taking the
plunge” to become a sworn police officer,
Bryony has taken to her newfound
career like the proverbial duck to water.
“When I got to the College I thought I
should have done this earlier and but
for falling pregnant I probably would
have, but I’ve really enjoyed the job
ever since I graduated. I know it sounds
really cheesy but the best part of the
job for me is actually having a sense of
making a difference – that and the great
camaraderie that exists between police
officers.”
New Zealand Police Association
There has been one dampener though.
She recently learned that the man
responsible for crushing her, Tuvaluborn Ioelu Peniamina, 44, an illegal
immigrant, had his bail conditions
relaxed. This is apparently because he
now has a job and despite him having
breached his earlier bail conditions.
He pleaded guilty to the Excess Breath
Alcohol (EBA) charge but pleaded not
guilty on two additional charges.
She finds that decision very frustrating.
“That was a real kick in the guts. I was
absolutely gob smacked.”
• Bryony Brown lies in traction shortly after sustaining serious injuries as the result of a drunk
driver crushing her between his vehicle and a patrol car.
East Coast reunion postponed
Prospective attendees at the East Coast Police Reunion should be aware that,
due to unforeseen circumstances, the reunion has had to be postponed.
The reunion was due to be held between the 7th and 9th of November.
November 2008
245
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Remembrance Day services
honour police killed on duty
By Bex Shannon, Association Communications
Assistant
Police and their friends and family
gathered to commemorate the lives of
the 28 police and traffic officers slain
on duty between 1886 and 2008 at this
year’s Police Remembrance Day, held at
the Royal New Zealand Police College at
Porirua on 29 September.
Remembrance Day was especially poignant this year, with the two recent onduty deaths of Sergeant Derek Wootton
in Porirua and Sergeant Don Wilkinson
in Mangere.
Paid tribute
Padre David Dell, Chaplain to the Royal
New Zealand Police College and New
Zealand Police Wellington District,
officiated the service. Padre Dell read
a tribute to the serving and retired
Police members who had died in the
past year, and gave thanks to “the men
and women who have given their all to
maintain law and order in New Zealand,
Australia and the region of the South
Pacific, as they have helped keep our
communities safe”. Reverend Richard
Waugh QSM, Honorary Chaplain for
the Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators,
also gave an address on the theme of
“Watch and Learn”.
• Police Commissioner, Howard Broad, lays a wreath at the foot of the Wall of Remembrance
at the Royal New Zealand Police College.
Superintendent Mike Wilson, National
Manager: Training, welcomed those
attending the service and acknowledged
that their presence signified their
respect and remembrance for all those
people who died having contributed to
the New Zealand Police.
Remembrance pin
Mr Wilson said he hoped that people
would continue to wear the Police
Remembrance Day huia feather lapel
pin, which incorporates the Police
chevron with a small slit in it to
represent loss, as it is a fitting symbol
similar to the Anzac Day poppy.
During the service, Inspector Siaosi
Fa’alogo read then names of police
colleagues from Australia, the Solomon
Islands and Fiji who had died during the
previous year. Senior Sergeant Andrea
Cooke read the names of sworn and
non-sworn members of the NZ Police
who had died while in service in the
246
November 2008
• Constable Tony Milner, and Constable Matt Fage with their police dogs Maverick and Blade,
in official uniform for the Police Remembrance Day service at the Royal New Zealand Police
College.
New Zealand Police Association
past year, while Deputy Commissioner
Lyn Provost and Retired Chief Inspector
Sherwood Young read the names of
those retired and other former staff who
had died during the past year.
Following the conclusion of the service,
Police Commissioner Howard Broad
laid a wreath at the foot of the Wall of
Remembrance and gave a salute as a
mark of respect to the 28 officers killed
on duty.
Central District Remembers
A second Police Remembrance Day
service, organised by Central District,
was held on 30 September in Palmerston
North. As well as remembering members
of Police who had died in the past year,
the service made special mention of
those specifically from Central District.
District Commander, Superintendent
Russell Gibson, welcomed those
attending, and Palmerston North Mayor,
Jono Naylor, read an address.
• Police Commissioner, Howard Broad, presents a reading during the Police Remembrance Day
service.
- Photo Courtesy of Wellington Police Forensic Photography
Inspector Mark Harrison and Peter
Miller read the names of those slain on
duty, and the names of those who had
died during the past year. Inspector
Mark Harrison also read a history of
Sergeant John Patrick McGuire, who
died after being shot by an unidentified
burglar in Palmerston North on 10
April 1910.
The Police Association wishes to extend
a special thanks to Association reps
for distributing pins to Police staff for
purchase, and also to those involved
with organising Police Remembrance
Day celebrations.
• Inpector Mark Harrison presents a history of Sergeant John Patrick McGuire, killed on duty
in Palmerston North in 1910, to those attending the Central District Police Remembrance
Day service.
- Photo courtesy of Senior Constable Dave Andrews
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Clues:
Across
1. Regulates
5. Scrapbook
8. Now (5)
9. Snake baton (3)
10. Confirm (3)
11. Kind of support (7)
13. Computer symbols (5)
14. Obtained at university (6)
15. Call of distress (6)
17. An award (5)
19. Raw (7)
21. Open up and take out (3)
22. Harden (3)
23. Happen (5)
24. Tempts. Challenges to do something (5)
October answers:
Across:
1. Rule
3. Notebook
9. Vehicle
10. Paths
11. Surveillance
25. Cools off a situation (7)
Down
1. Change (5)
2. Overseeing (7)
3. Tell (3)
4. Jargon (5)
5. Person who applies for a job (9)
6. Game of chance (5)
7. Person’s trait (7)
12. Represents in perfect form (9)
14. Ruins (7)
16. Guides (7)
18. Put off (5)
19. Famous (5)
20. Broken rules that are inticing (5)
23. Not on! (3)
8
11
17
22. Homesick
23. Levy
Down:
1. Revision
2. Lahar
4. Openly
5. Explanations
6. Optical
7. Kiss
8. Screwdrivers
12. Identify
14. Sternum
16. Atomic
18. Issue
19. Cosh
24
10
12
13
14
21
13. Onside
15. Bailed
17. Geriatrician
20. Ounce
21. Mensici
9
15
18
16
19
22
20
23
25
November 2008
247
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Vehicles not guns
the major ‘line of
duty’ killer in USA
NZ Police Roll of Honour 1886-2008
Constable Neil McLeod, shot dead, 30 July 1890.
Sergeant John Patrick Hackett McGuire, died of gunshot wounds, 14 April 1910.
Constable John Doyle, victim of an assault, 5 February 1913.
Constable Vivian Dudding, died of gunshot wounds, 6 October 1919.
Constable James Dorgan, shot dead, 27 August 1921.
Constable Thomas Heeps, died of gunshot wounds, 21 October 1934.
Constable Frederick William Jordan, shot dead, 8 October 1941.
Constable Percy Campbell Tulloch, shot dead, 8 October 1941.
Sergeant William Cooper, shot dead, 8 October 1941.
Constable Edward Mark Best, gunshot wounds, 11 October 1941.
Traffic Officer John Kehoe, shot dead, 31 January 1949.
Sergeant William Shore Hughes, shot dead, 27 May 1951.
Detective Sergeant Neville Wilson Power, QPM, 6 January 1963.
Detective Inspector Wallace Chalmers, QPM, shot dead, 6 January 1963.
Constable James Thomas Richardson, shot dead, 3 February 1963.
Constable Bryan Leslie Schultz, shot dead, 3 February 1963.
Constable Donald Richard Stokes, fatally injured, 15 August 1966.
Sergeant Gilbert Peter Arcus, victim of an assault, 4 February 1970.
Constable Peter William Murphy, gunshot wounds, 25 September 1976.
Traffic Officer Barry Yorston Gibson, victim of assault, 13 June 1977.
Traffic Officer Robin Jamieson Dudding, GM, shot dead, 7 April 1986.
Senior Constable Peter Morris Umbers, GM, fatally injured, 27 May 1990.
Sergeant Stewart Graeme Guthrie, GC, shot dead, 13 November 1990.
Constable Glenn Arthur McKibbin, gunshot wounds, 21 April 1996.
Constable Lester Murray Stretch, victim of assault, 26 May 1999.
Detective Constable Duncan John Taylor, NZBM, shot dead, 5 July 2002.
Sergeant Derek Michael Wootton, fatally injured, 11 July 2008.
Sergeant Don Wilkinson, shot dead, 11 September 2008.
Most people assume the majority of
fallen officers die from gun violence in
the USA.
Figures recently released by the National
Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial
Fund have confirmed that motor
vehicles killed more police officers on
duty than any other cause over the last
decade.
Officer fatalities due to traffic-related
accidents were up more than 12% in
2007, an alarming trend.
Between 1998 and 2007, 643 officers
died in motor vehicle-related incidents,
either in their patrol car, on their
motorcycle, or by being struck by
another vehicle. In the same period,
585 were shot dead.
Last year 83 officers died in motor
vehicle incidents while on duty, while
68 were shot dead. Five died as a result
of terrorist actions.
Association
donates
medal
• Police Associaton President Greg
O’Connor (wearing his own long service
medal) donates the long service medal
belonging to Sergeant William Cooper to
the Police Museum. Sergeant Cooper was
one of four police officers shot and killed
by deranged farmer Stanley Graham on
the West Coast in October 1941. Graham
later died from gunshot wounds after
being cornered by police while on the run.
The Police Association recently purchased
the medal and elected to donate it to the
Police Museum because of its historical
significance. Museum Manager, Kamaya
Yates, accepted the medal for the Police
Museum.
We remember…
CARRUTHERS William Wright
CLARK Keith
KAMAT Nandan
248
November 2008
Who passed away…
7-Jun-08
Retired member
Christchurch
11-Sep-08
Retired member
Dunedin
27-Sep-08
Member
Wellington
DAVEY Jared Isaiah
10-Oct-2008
Son of member
Hamilton
DAVEY John Nicholas
29-Oct-2008
Son of member
Hamilton
New Zealand Police Association
Policing Act 2008
officially enacted
on 1 October
By Bex Shannon, Association
Communications Assistant
The Policing Act 2008 officially commenced on 1 October, replacing the
1958 Police Act and giving new powers
to Police, half a century on.
The commencement of the new legislation was marked with an early
morning parade of recruits and staff at
the Royal New Zealand Police College in
Porirua. Police Minister Annette King,
accompanied by Commissioner Howard
Broad, carried out an official inspection
of police staff while in parade formation.
The cutting of the Policing Act 2008 cake
followed several formalities, including
an address by Ms King and Mr Broad
and the symbolic signing of the new
“solemn undertaking” by two Police
staff members, one sworn and one nonsworn.
• Police Minister Annette King carries out a formal inspection of Police recruits and staff,
during a ceremony at the Royal NZ Police College to mark the official commencement of the
new Policing Act.
- Photo courtesy of Wellington Police Forensic Photography.
Perks of being over 50 or…
If you’re not over 50, this is what you have to look forward to.
1.
Kidnappers are not very interested in you.
2.
In a hostage situation you are likely to be released first.
3.
No one expects you to run anywhere.
4.
People call at 9 p.m. and ask: “Did I wake you?”
5.
People no longer view you as a hypochondriac.
6.
There is nothing left to learn the hard way.
7.
Things you buy now won’t wear out.
8.
You can eat dinner at 4 p.m.
9.
You can live without sex but not your glasses.
10. You get into heated arguments about pension plans.
The Policing Act 2008 better equips
Police to deal with the challenges of
contemporary policing in New Zealand
and offshore, and introduces a mod
-ern employment framework. Frontline
officers have new powers, such as the
ability to take a suspect’s particulars before summonsing them, and at a location
other than a Police station. The Act also
clarifies the independence and impartiality
of the office of constable - the foundation
of New Zealand’s system of policing.
Following its third reading, the Policing
Bill was passed in the House on 2
September and received Royal Assent from
the Governor-General on 16 September.
More than two-and-a-half years worth
of review and consultation went into the
new Act.
11. You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge.
Have you moved recently?
12. You quit trying to hold your stomach in no matter who walks into the room.
If you have moved 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.
13. You sing along with elevator music.
14. Your eyes won’t get much worse.
15. Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off (and then
they’ll up the premiums!).
16. Your joints are more accurate than meteorologists at the MetService at
predicting the weather.
17. Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can’t remember them
either.
18. Your supply of brain cells is finally down to a manageable size.
November 2008
249
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Collective
Agreements
Ratified
The sworn and non-sworn collective agreements have been
ratified and members can expect the settlements, with the
relevant back-pay, to be implemented in November.
More than 120 ratification meetings were held, including
meetings of the various international deployments.
In total 2703 sworn members, about one third of the
Association’s sworn membership, attended meetings and
voted, with 1960 votes (72.5%) in favour of the offer and 743
votes (27.5%) against. In respect of the non-sworn collective,
849 members, almost 40% of the membership, attended
meetings with 730 (86%) votes in favour and 119 (14%) votes
against.
Member attendance at ratification meetings was similar to
2006, when a combined total of about 37.5% of sworn and
non-sworn members attended.
As in previous years, multiple meetings were held in most
locations to ensure members had more than one opportunity
to attend meetings and be fully informed before voting.
Delegates at Conference this year will be considering
recommended Rule changes to introduce a special vote
procedure in specific circumstances where it is not possible
for members to attend a ratification meeting, despite the
opportunities created by multiple meetings and the ability to
attend a meeting at a place other than a member’s own station.
These changes, if adopted, will be introduced for the 2009 pay
negotiations.
Australian
Institute of
Criminology
Conference
The Australian Institute of Criminology is hosting an
international conference on homicide with a focus on
domestic-related homicide.
The conference is being held on the Gold Coast from 3-5
December, 2008.
Domestic violence is a significant factor in homicides across
most cultures and is a significant factor in the deaths of many
women and children in particular. A distinguishing feature
of this type of homicide is that it has often proved resistant
to efforts to combat it. The conference will focus on crosscultural and international experiences of domestic-related
homicide. The conference is the first of its kind in Australia.
The conference programme and registration is available on the
website http://www.aic.gov.au/conferences/2008-homicide
Use of 0800 Ten Nine phone line
Association representatives maintain this telephone line (0800
8366 463) on a 24-hour basis.
It is to be used ONLY for matters that cannot be deferred,
such as Police shootings, fatal pursuits or deaths in custody.
Important and immediate industrial and legal advice can then
be arranged through the Association networks.
Please do not phone this line for non-urgent matters.
The late Mr Common Sense
This mock obituary has been doing the email rounds recently
and in case you haven’t spied it we produce it below in the
interests of reflection. Sadly, the sentiments expressed have a
certain ring of truth…
He declined even further when schools were required to get
parental consent to administer sun screen or an Aspirin to a
student; but could not inform parents when a student became
pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common
Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows
for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago
lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having
cultivated such valuable lessons as: knowing when to come
in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; life isn’t
always fair; and maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lost the will to live, as the churches became
businesses and criminals received better treatment than their
victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend
yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar
could sue you for assault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t
spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults,
not children, are in charge).
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman
failed to realise that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She
spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge
settlement against the ‘negligent’ restaurant.
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned
but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a
six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a
classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash
after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly
student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth
and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility;
and his son, Reason. His four stepbrothers survive him; I
Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame,
and I’m A Victim.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers
for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in
disciplining their unruly children.
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November 2008
Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was
gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the
majority and do nothing.
New Zealand Police Association
At home and abroad: frontline staffing
issues cross international borders
Cuts to the number of police operating in
both New York and Michigan are being
criticised by the public, who believe
crime levels will escalate drastically
without the extra law enforcement.
with violent crime up in some areas and
arrests down. Law enforcement agencies
are fighting crime with about 1,800 fewer
police officers than in 2001, according to
The Associated Press.
New York Police Commissioner Ray
Kelly said recently that he would follow
Mayor Bloomberg’s order to cut budgets
by not hiring 1,000 officers that had
been planned for, according to The New
York Post.
According to a review of FBI uniform
crime reports, Michigan lost 9% of
combined sworn officer and civilian
full-time staff between 2001-2006
–more than any other state.
Police numbers unchanged
The NYPD currently has about 35,800
Police officers, when in 1992 there were
the same number.
Crime is down to record levels, with
murders having decreased by 17% in
the past year, and Mr Kelly said that the
reduction in police officers would not
affect current operations.
The force has had trouble hiring staff
over recent years because of its low
starting salary of $US25,100. Mr Kelly
said that reducing the number of officers
seemed practical when they can’t seem
to hire staff anyway.
However, an arbitrator is expected to
come up with a new salary scale in the
coming months.
Officials at the Patrolmen’s Benevolent
Association (PBA) said that it was not
starting salaries, but salaries across the
board that have affected recruitment.
“The NYPD has turned its inability to
maintain staffing levels into budgetary
savings at a time when local community
precinct houses are screaming for more
police officers,” Pat Lynch, president of
the PBA, said
Reductions criticised
Even lawmakers and some city
councillors are sceptical that fewer
police officers could sustain the low
crime levels that Kelly’s force has
achieved.
“During the worst crisis that this city
ever faced we had 38,630 police officers
and now we have approximately
35,548, somewhere around that. I
don’t think that makes much sense,”
Councilmember, Hiram Monserrate, said.
In Michigan, major cuts to police numbers have already proved detrimental,
Significant losses
The city of Detroit lost more than 20%
of its officer positions, and the state’s
smallest departments have been hit
hard, with agencies that employ four
or fewer officers losing 45% of their
positions. That can make the difference
between having someone on patrol at
night, or having to rely on county or
state officers from further away.
Tight tax revenues, caused in part by
Michigan’s long-struggling economy
and high unemployment rates, are
blamed for the police layoffs. Some
cities in Michigan are looking at
cutting police numbers even further as
local governments struggle to pay for
patrols.
“We’re stretched thin. A lot of criminals,
the halfway bright ones anyway, are
starting to realise that,” Sheriff Brian
McLean of Houghton County said.
Detrimental effects
Citizens sometimes wait hours for an
officer to respond to a property crime,
and more state highways go unpatrolled
for long periods at night. Support staff
have also been slashed.
Overall reported crime dropped almost
6% from 2000 to 2006, and arrests are
down almost 13% for the same period.
The number of reported murders, rapes
and aggravated assaults has stayed
level or increased only slightly, but the
number of arrests for those crimes has
edged downwards.
However, some help might be on the
way, with the state legislature’s approval
of $1million to start a trooper training
school that could help to train 100 new
troopers. Governor Jennifer Granholm
proposed spending up to $7.3 million
in the next fiscal year to enable the
students to complete training, but
similar proposals have been scrapped
in recent years because of state budget
problems.
“The presence of a police officer is
prevention,” said Terrence Jungel,
Executive Director of the Michigan
Sheriff’s Association. “That has been
hurt with the erosion of support for law
enforcement,” he said.
It makes you think…
If you tied buttered toast to the back of
a cat and dropped it from a height, what
would happen?
If you’re in a vehicle going the speed of
light, what happens when you turn on the
headlights?
You know how most packages say:
“Open here”. What happens if you open
it somewhere else?
If you have your finger touching the
rearview mirror that says -- “objects in
mirror are closer than they appear”, how
can that be possible?
Why is it so hard to remember how to
spell mnemonic?
If someone invented instant water, what
would they mix it with?
Why is it called a TV “set” when you only
get one?
Why does your nose run and your feet
smell?
Why does an alarm clock “go off” when it
begins ringing?
If pro is the opposite of con, is progress
the opposite of congress?
Why does “cleave” mean both split apart
and stick together?
Why is it, whether you sit up or sit down,
the result is the same?
Why is there an expiry date on sour
cream?
If you keep trying to prove Murphy’s Law,
will something keep going wrong?
Why does flammable and inflammable
mean the same thing?
How can someone “draw a blank”?
November 2008
251
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Poignant reminder of evils of drugs from
Don Wilkinson’s mother during eulogy
Sergeant Don Wilkinson, an undercover operative killed in the line of duty, was farewelled in midSeptember by over 1,000 mourners at Parnell’s Holy Trinity Cathedral.
Sergeant Wilkinson’s mother, Beverley
Lawrie, an Oamaru school teacher, farewelled
her only child by delivering a eulogy which
spoke of her pride in the work he had done
and a warning that more police officers would
be killed if the “gangs and drugs are not
cleaned up.”
Mr Wilkinson, 47, was shot dead during
a surveillance operation as he was trying
to place a tracking device on a vehicle in
Mangere outside a suspected P lab on 11
September.
“A sociable loner”
Beverley Lawrie described her son as “a
sociable loner” who worked in a job “which
had its fair share of risks”.
Reverend Ross Bay told the congregation
that people needed to stand against the
scourge of methamphetamine and “those
who manufacture and supply it”. He said it
was causing havoc in society and wrecking
families.
Police Commissioner Howard Broad paid
tribute to the excellent work of Sergeant
Wilkinson adding that the culture that allowed
gangs and drugs to co-exist must change.
Commissioner Broad said: “Drugs and gangs
go back at least 50 years. We’ve gradually
built a culture where drugs are seen as a
lifestyle choice. This must change”.
Responsibility for change
The responsibility for that change needed
“more than slogans and rhetoric” and it was
the responsibility of every person.
Many of Don Wilkinson’s colleagues attended
a private service for him the night before the
official funeral service.
As befitting Police tradition, a lone piper led
the funeral procession as Mr Wilkinson’s
casket was taken to the hearse and then
driven slowly past hundreds of police officers,
who had formed a guard of honour. The New
Zealand Police flag was draped over the
casket, which was carried shoulder high by
pallbearers, presenting a sombre moment
of reflection for all Police personnel present.
Forty-seven doves, one each for every year
of Don Wilkinson’s life, were released as the
casket was borne to the hearse.
252
November 2008
New Zealand Police Association
Opposite page:
• Top: Don Wilkinson’s hat and photo adorned his casket.
• Middle: POIGNANT MOMENT: Young and old alike came to pay
their respects to slain police officer, Don Wilkinson.
• Bottom: Police Commissioner Howard Broad offers the traditional
salute as Don Wilkinson’s mother Beverly Lawrie follows her son’s
coffin from the church.
This page:
• Top: Police officers lined the street in honour of their fallen
colleague.
• Bottom: Don Wilkinson’s casket is carried shoulder high from the
church after a moving ceremony.
- Photos courtesy of Lawrence Smith and Sunday-News.
To An Athlete Dying Young
The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.
To-day, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay,
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.
Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:
Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.
So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.
And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl’s.
- A.E. Housman.
November 2008
253
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
• NZ Police contingent members join Afghan colleagues to remember Inspector Geoff Hancock at the unveiling of the commemorative stone.
Memorial honours NZ police
officer’s work in Afghanistan
By Bex Shannon, Communications Assistant
The trio worked alongside New Zealand Defence Force staff as part
of the New Zealand Government’s international aid contribution to
Afghanistan.
Working closely with the New Zealand Military Bamyan Provincial
Reconstruction Team, Mr Hancock was part of a nationwide Police
On 8 October, New Zealand Police staff based in Afghanistan
unveiled a memorial stone acknowledging Inspector Geoffrey
Hancock’s service at the Bamyan Regional Training Centre during
2005-2006.
Mr Hancock, from Wellington, died after he returned to New Zealand
from his deployment. His Operation Highland colleagues decided it
would be a fitting tribute to place a white marble stone at the training
centre to mark his work during his deployment and the impact it had
on the Afghanistan people.
An officer remembered
A remembrance service was held at the training centre to mark the
unveiling of the memorial, and was attended by a number of New
Zealand and Afghanistan police officers. Padre Colin Mason, from
NZ Police, welcomed attendees and spoke of Mr Hancock’s work
at the training camp. Colonel Payman, of the Afghanistan Police,
acknowledged his efforts and commitment, as well as his friendship,
and Inpector Andrew Heffey gave a short eulogy.
Padre Mason concluded the service by blessing the stone, which
is inscribed in both English and Dari with the words: “In memory of
a proud New Zealand police officer, Inspector Geoffrey Hancock who
served at the Bamyan Regional Training Centre as an International
mentor 2005/6”.
Following the service, attendees went to Colonel Payman’s room and
shared an Afghan lunch. Superintendent Paul Carpenter, Contingent
Commander, said the day proved to be “a fitting tribute to Geoff and
his work here in Bamyan”, and that it would be recognised as a day
of remembrance every year.
Rebuilding the force
Mr Hancock, along with two other colleagues from Wellington, were
sent to Afghanistan on deployment in 2005 for five months to help
rebuild the police force, which had crumbled due to war and internal
conflict.
254
November 2008
• The NZ Police cap atop the memorial stone.
New Zealand Police Association
Reform Project extending the New Zealand
Police input first established by Sergeant Wally
Kopae and Senior Sergeant Marty Edgill.
The primary activities conducted by the NZ
Police team included: the mentoring of the
local police chief; advising staff and helping to
train recruits at the Regional Training Centre
for Bamyan Police; and evaluating provincial
policing plans.
Teaching and being taught
The men were responsible for instructing
simple and varied lessons. Mr Hancock would
often be out planting disarmed mines in
preparation for his lessons.
“One wonders what we can teach people who
have been traversing minefields at an early
age,” he said when interviewed during his
deployment.
The men also helped to build a new classroom,
accommodation block, and bathroom facilities,
which meant recruits, could move from their
current accommodation – an abandoned
mosque.
Mr Hancock thoroughly enjoyed the interaction
he was having with the recruits, the training
centre staff and the local Bamiyan people and
on his return home said that the deployment
was the “experience of a lifetime”.
• The flags of New Zealand, Afghanistan
and the United States on the parade
ground.
Pilot scheme sees nurses placed in
Manukau and Christchurch stations
By Bex Shannon, Communications Assistant
A two-year pilot scheme to gauge the
effectiveness of placing nursing support in
police stations is underway in Manukau and
Christchurch Central.
Assistant Commissioner Grant Nicholls said
Police are very often the first agency to have
contact with people with mental health and
alcohol/drug issues, and the assistance of
specialist nurses will be ideal for the watch
houses.
The scheme is part of a new pilot
programme by the Police and Ministry of
Health, and is expected to have significant
benefit to those suffering mental health
issues or drug and alcohol problems.
Jeanette Knight, the nurse based at Rotorua
Police Station, is responsible for conducting
mental health assessments and facilitating
the treatment of mentally ill detainees,
arrestees and those on remand in Rotorua.
Rotorua Police Area Commander Inspector
Bruce Horne told the Rotorua Daily Post that
Jeanette’s contribution is significant; both to
police and to the people she works with and
speaks for.
The pilots were established because the
custodial care needed for those affected by
mental health issues or drugs and alcohol
often exceeds the expertise of police. Those
affected can also be difficult and time
consuming to manage.
Reduce offending
Police said the aim of the pilot is to enhance
the social functioning and mental health of
people who have been detained, to assist in
reducing the rate of drug and alcohol abuse,
addiction-related harm and to help reduce
offending.
Rotorua leads the way
The pilot is an extension of the successful
placement of a mental health nurse at the
Rotorua Police Station since 2001.
The Rotorua initiative has been praised for
upskilling police officers and providing them
with the capability to avoid any negative side
effects of holding people affected by mental
illness in custody.
Consideration of needs
Four nurses, two based in the watch house
at each station, will screen people who have
been arrested and may have drug or alcohol
issues. This will enable them to be referred
for suitable treatment if required; thereby
ensuring individuals are processed with
consideration for their specific needs.
In 2007, 48% of people held in police
stations reported they had been using at
least one drug at the time of arrest. In the
same year, Police were called to nearly
9,000 incidents involving people with solely
mental health-related issues and assisted
over 17,000 people who had become
affected by alcohol and drugs.
sometimes contribute to offending. In some
cases referring these people to assessment
and treatment may be very appropriate.”
• Assistant Commissioner Grant Nicholls:
“Giving people the support they need at
the earliest possible stage is crucial to
reducing the chance of seeing them turn
up again in our police stations.”
“Giving people the support they need at the
earliest possible stage is crucial to reducing
the chance of seeing them turn up again in
our police stations,” he said.
Director of Mental Health Dr David Chaplow
also supports the initiative.
“Being confined in police cells can, on
occasions, aggravate a person’s mental
health condition. Mental health problems
Accurate assessment and treatment
“Jeanette provides close professional
support for our staff and that’s a huge
benefit to police. She is also able to provide
an immediate and accurate assessment of
people in police custody with mental health
issues. If additional care is required, her
knowledge of mental health systems enables
her to facilitate that assistance in a timely
manner. All these factors result in better
outcomes for all parties,” he said.
If the pilot programmes in Manukau and
Christchurch prove as successful as the
Rotorua initiative, they may be continued
beyond 2010 and be rolled out to other
police stations nationwide.
November 2008
255
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
• You’re sitting there at your desk editing copy and something catches your eye. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the Special Tactics Group
rappelling officers on to the roof of Wellington Police Station across the road from the NZ Police Association offices in Wellington. All part of
the excitement of living in the Big Smoke.
- Photo courtesy of a pigeon perched on the 6th floor window ledge. Did we mention we have really clever pigeons in Wellington?
“My Way” most popular funeral anthem while
“Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead” has its day too
Some 405 years ago William Shakespeare penned the phrase “shuffled off this
mortal coil” in his famed play Hamlet. No doubt he could never have envisaged the
manner in which the deceased (or their relatives) might choose to be farewelled
while ‘shuffling’ in the 21st century.
6.
Amazing Grace (various artists)
7.
We’ll Meet Again (Vera Lynn)
8.
Over The Rainbow (Judy Garland)
Funeral songs were recently the subject of
research conducted by South Australian
funeral directors, Centennial Park. They
came up with some very interesting
funeral renditions, which have been
performed at funerals over recent years.
hear actually work very well within
the service because they represent the
person’s character,’’ said Bryan Elliott,
Chief Executive of Centennial Park,
the largest funeral provider in South
Australia.
9.
Abide With Me (Harry Secombe)
What would you think might be the
mood for a funeral conducted with a
rendition of Ding Dong the Witch is Dead
as part of the musical arrangements?
Two hymns make the cut
Mr Elliott said only two hymns - Amazing
Grace and Abide With Me - made
Centennial Park’s list of top 10 funeral
songs.
2.
Stairway To Heaven (Led Zeppelin)
3.
Highway To Hell (AC/DC)
4.
Another Ones
(Queen)
5.
I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead (Bon Jovi)
6.
Always Look On The Bright Side of
Life (Monty Python)
7.
Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead (The
Wizard of Oz)
8.
Hit The Road Jack (Willie Nelson)
9.
I’m Too Sexy (Right Said Fred)
This was, in fact, the song played at a
funeral in South Australia.
Trends
While traditional hymns still got a look
in, Centennial Park found that there
was a move towards popular, rock and
novelty songs in the ‘modern’ age.
According to a report carried by
Australian Associated Press (AAP),
other funeral ceremonies have been
accompanied by the blaring rock tones
of Another One Bites The Dust, Stairway
to Heaven or even Highway to Hell. The
first and third choices might be a tad
disconcerting for loved ones to hear,
one would think, had they not been
forewarned.
These, however, rate behind crooner
classics such as My Way (Frank Sinatra),
Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong) and
Unforgettable (Nat King Cole).
“Some of the more unusual songs we
256
November 2008
The list is headed by My Way, Wonderful
World and Time To Say Goodbye.
Mr Elliott said the move towards
more personalised funerals prompted
Centennial Park to replace projectors in
their three chapels with large plasma TV
screens.
“Hi-tech funerals are the way of the
future,’’ he said. Nine in every 10 funerals
now include some form of audio-visual
presentation.’’
Centennial Park’s top 10 funeral songs
were:
1. My Way (Frank Sinatra)
2. Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong)
3. Time To Say Goodbye (Andrea Bocelli
and Sarah Brightman)
4. Unforgettable (Nat King Cole)
5. The Wind Beneath My Wings (Bette
Midler)
10. Danny Boy (various artists)
Centennial Park’s most unusual funeral
songs were:
1. The Show Must Go On (Queen)
Bites
The
Dust
10. AFL club songs of Adelaide and Port
Adelaide
Several years ago, an elderly Wellington
man, with an unusual sense of humour
and an inclination to always have the last
laugh with his practical jokes, surprised
guests at his funeral when he was carried
out to strains of The Laughing Policeman.
Carrying his coffin out with the intended
degree of dignity was not easy for the
pallbearers. He would have loved it. He’s
probably still laughing.
New Zealand Police Association
by Ricky Collins
The German Experience
My wine cellar is best described as an eclectic
collection, with bits of everything stored away.
It represents the evolution of my wine tastes
over the years but includes a number of wine
styles that I’d now rather not have collected.
Given my time over again, I would have
focused on a few specific styles of wine and
top of my list of white wines would be German Riesling.
apple and citrus flavours. I’ve since
tried this wine again and it remains
one of the better dry Rieslings I’ve
sampled.
2004 Graacher Domprobst
Riesling Spätlese Fienherb
RRP $33
This is an off-dry single-vineyard Riesling from a very highly regarded
vintage. It has honeysuckle notes on the nose, and expressive
minerality and citrus flavours on the palate. It has a slightly spritzic
mouthfeel to it, which I found appealing.
2004 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 2004 RRP $40
Last month, I tried the latest range of Kerpen Rieslings, brought
into New Zealand by MacVine International Ltd. Kerpen is a wellregarded German producer from the Mosel region and focuses solely
on Riesling. Their Rieslings range from bone dry to concentrated,
sweet examples. Here are my thoughts on a selection of their latest
releases.
This wine to me is a superb example of German Riesling and is the
type of wine I’d have loved to collect over the years. It is a harmonious
wine, with great acidity and concentrated lemon and lime flavours.
It will reward those who are prepared to hold off drinking it for a
number of years.
2006 Riesling Blauschiefer Trocken
The flavour profile of this wine is more in the orange spectrum. It
has a viscous texture, richness that is in another dimension to the
previous wines, and great length. Bunches of late harvested grapes
were selected to produce this wine, hence the increased level of
sweetness. At $48 for a 750 ml bottle, this represents great value.
RRP $22
I’m not normally that fond of bone dry Riesling, but this wine really
appealed to me. The Blauschiefer term translates to blue slate and
this is reflected in the mineral tones in the wine. The very crisp acids
give the wine a clean fresh feel and it has delicious granny smith
November
2005 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese
December
RRP $48
January
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November 2008
257
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
How to enjoy your retirement
Working people frequently ask retired
people what they do to make their
days interesting.
Well, for example, the other day my
wife and I went into town and went
into a shop.
We were only in there for about five minutes. When we came out,
there was a cop writing out a parking ticket.
We went up to him and said: “Come on man, how about giving a
senior citizen a break?”
He ignored us and continued writing the ticket. I called him a Nazi
turd. He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having
worn tyres.
So my wife called him a s%#t-head. He finished the second ticket and
put it on the windshield with the first. Then he started writing a third
ticket. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more we abused him,
the more tickets he wrote.
Personally, we didn't care. We came into town by bus. We try to have a
little fun each day now that we're retired. It's important at our age.
This column is written by a frontline
police officer. It does not represent the
views or policies of the Police Association.
“One machine can do the work of 50 ordinary men.
No machine can do the work of one extraordinary
man.
- Elbert Hubbard, 1859-1915,
American author/publisher.
“All ambitions are lawful except those which climb
upwards on the miseries or credulities of mankind.”
- Joseph Conrad, 1857-1992,
Polish-born British novelist.
“Being willing to change allows you to move from
a point of view to a viewing point - a higher, more
expansive place, from which you can see both sides.”
- Thomas Crum, American educationalist,
humanitarian and author.
fair I think we’ll be rolling up our sleeves next year as I see arbitration
on the horizon!
November Elections will be very interesting though words are cheap
and action is what counts at the end of the day!
OUTLAWING OUTLAWS
TASER COMPLICATION
Well, I see Christmas won’t be coming early and all our staff won’t
be having access to this tactical option necessity in our demanding
and sometimes damn volatile environment. I don’t know about you
guys but I am so over this dithering and dathering. Next thing we’ll be
wanting the Queen’s opinion on whether we should deploy an item that
is going to reduce injuries to our number one resource!
A limited roll out and restricted deployment is only going to allow
more of our colleagues to face injury out there in the ‘real world’.
The hierarchy love throwing stats around (though not recorded violent
offending at the moment) and assaults against police are on the up and
up. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see the correlation with
the violence stats that are also heading in the same direction.
Isn’t ‘Decision Making’ and ‘Influential Leadership’ part of our Core
Competency (see I do take notice) framework? Will someone stand up
and take some testosterone pills please? Yes, I said testosterone and
happy for the flak to come with the comment! How many more of us
have to get hurt before we wake up and smell the coffee!
Another political football that there is way too much rhetoric around.
Bad people doing bad things need one thing and that is our focus.
Focus means resources and the big question for me is how many
of the 1000 have gone there? Do you remember that wee group,
OFCANZ or something that was going to solve the world’s organised
crime problems? It’s been very quiet for a long time in this area, I must
say, though I do see some of the jobs have been finally advertised to
go and sit in Molesworth Street – what a carrot that is!
I’m actually 110% behind this team but as I’ve already pointed out....
words are cheap. I want to see some action! I’m sure we will have
targeted our shining experts in this field from near and far and look
forward to this ‘A’ Team’s effort. Go get ’em team.
CHRISTMAS COMING EARLY
What else could it be with the boys in black journeying to the northern
hemisphere to remind the world just how good we are and this is nearly
always a case of action followed by
words.
SEE YA
Egyptian man gets ass thrown in jail
MORE $$$ IN THE POCKET
A donkey in Egypt has been jailed for stealing corn on the cob.
Hard call this one wasn’t it? I understand some heated debate (a good
thing) was had up and down the country of where we were at and
where we should be. The road show was pretty convincing for me as
I didn’t see the point in going to arbitration over a one-year deal. Also
when you look at those comparisons (damn stats again) we were in the
ball park. So a few more bucks coming before Christmas and Aunty
Helen and Uncle Michael also helped out along the way, though to be
Egyptian media recently reported that an agricultural research site in
the Nile Delta owned the paddock that the corn was stolen from. The
donkey and its owner were apprehended at a checkpoint set up by
police after complaints from the research institute’s director about
missing crops, according to a report from Associated Foreign Press.
258
November 2008
A local judge sentenced the donkey to 24-hours in prison, and the
owner was fined 50 Egyptian pounds ($NZ14.50).
New Zealand Police Association
• BLAST FROM THE PAST: There’s an old
adage that goes: “The more things change
the more they stay the same.” This
advert from the September 1967 issue of
the NZ Police Journal, a predecessor of
Police News, could just as easily fit today’s
recruitment wish list too.
Ban on exposure of underwear
ruled as ‘unconstitutional’
A judge has decided a law banning
sagging pants in the Florida town of
Riveira Beach is unconstitutional after
a teenager spent a night in jail on
accusations he exposed too much of his
underwear.
Julius Hart, 17, was charged recently
after a police officer said he spotted
the teenager riding his bicycle with
10-12 centimetres of blue-and-black
boxer shorts revealed, according to an
Associated Press report.
Hart’s public defender, Carol Bickerstaff,
urged the judge to strike down the sagging
pants law, telling him: “Your honour, we
now have the fashion police.”
Circuit Judge Paul Moyle ruled that the
law was unconstitutional based on “the
limited facts” of the case. Technically,
however, the charge hasn’t been
dropped yet: so Hart still has to face the
charges at a later date.
Law passed in March
Voters in Riviera Beach approved the
law in March. A first offence for sagging
pants carries a $150 fine or community
service, and habitual offenders face the
possibility of jail time.
Proposals to ban saggy pants are gaining
ground in several places around the
U.S. They have met with opposition
from civil liberties advocates who say
they will lead to racial profiling against
young African-Americans.
The fashion is believed to have started
in prisons, where inmates are not given
belts with their baggy uniform pants in
order to prevent hangings and beatings.
By the late 1980s, the trend had made
it to gangster rap videos and then went
on to skateboarders in the suburbs and
high school hallways.
Bickerstaff said she wants the city to
drop the law - regardless of whether
anyone dislikes low-riding pants.
“The first time I saw this particular
fashion, I disliked it,” she told the judge.
“And then I realized I’m getting old.”
Death penalty
method in doubt
A judge in Ohio has ordered the state to
change its lethal injection execution method
because it can cause pain. Judge James
Burge said the three-step method – by which
a convict is first rendered unconscious, then
a muscle-paralyser is administered, followed
by a final injection which stops the heart –
does not conform with quick and painless
executions.
A single massive dose of anaesthesia should
be administered, he said. The decision is
expected to revive the death penalty debate.
Moped thefts
on the rise
When petrol prices climbed to just over the $2
a litre mark recently, vehicle thieves started
turning to more economical forms of joyriding.
Napier police reported recently that moped
thefts leapt from almost none 12 months ago
to about five per month when petrol reached its
peak. A dealer at Bay View, near Napier, said
scooter sales had risen 50% in six months.
- Source: Fairfax.
November 2008
259
POLICE COUNCIL OF SPORT
To contact the Police Council of Sport, call Alison Murray at the RNZPC. Ph: (04) 238-3139
• Competitors in the Police Association Snowboarding Nationals bask in the sun at Cardrona Skifield, near Queenstown.
Tough competition in more ways
than one at Snowboarding Champs
By Greg Murton, event organiser
The 2008 NZ Police Association Snowboarding Nationals were held at Cardrona
Alpine Resort from 17-19 September.
Competitors from as far afield as Invercargill
and Auckland attended and most points in
between. The weather was overcast and
rainy for the first two days of competition but
by Friday it was perfect mountain weather
for the running of the Giant Slalom and
Gravity-X.
The event consisted of the Halfpipe, Giant
Slalom and Gravity-X. The latter being a fourperson race with no holds barred down a
course consisting of turns, rollers and jumps.
This year’s event proved to have the most
carnage ever in the 10 years the event has
been running. Ian Tuke suffered a broken and
dislocated shoulder going big in the Halfpipe.
Amy Weston was transported to hospital in
a back brace after a high speed crash in the
Gravity-X, and Pat Mulrooney suffered ‘mallet
finger’ in an out of competition spill.
Titanic battle
A titanic battle in the women’s event resulted
in Lynne Donaldson (Wanaka) winning the
overall competition ahead of Jacqui Lambeth
(Invercargill), with Laura Lucas (Hamilton)
third.
In the men’s event, Garrod Russell (Hamilton)
defended his title from the past two years,
with a resurgent Andrew Royds (Palmerston
North) second, and old campaigner Steve
Lloyd third.
Thanks to the Police Council of Sport and NZ
Police Association for the continued support.
The event would not be able to be held
without their sponsorship.
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.
260
November 2008
New Zealand Police Association
Write it here! Letters to the Editor are welcome.
Signed letters are preferred, but in all cases the writer’s name and address must be supplied. Names will be published unless there is a good
reason for anonymity. The editor reserves the right to edit, abridge or decline letters without explanation. Email to: [email protected] or
write it to the Editor at PO Box 12344, Wellington. Letters under 400 words are preferred.
Democracy and the need for proxies
I recently attended my first ratification meeting
and was concerned that the attendance rule
is to continue. Only those union members
attending a meeting can cast a vote. An
argument in support for this rule is the recent
round of emails criticising the Association’s
stand on the pay round.
People should only vote if “fully informed”
of the issues, and can only be so informed if
they have attended the meeting. However, the
Association had every opportunity to counter
any arguments made in those rogue emails by
responding in the same medium. In fact, at
least two detailed emails were produced and
sent to everyone on the Association’s mailing
list whereas the rogue mailers only forwarded
to their own contacts.
From that alone, the Association has more
reach. Yet, under the current system, the
Association then has at least an hour at a
ratification meeting to argue its position. A
position previously prepared and supported
by questionable graphs, including those
without a zero point on the y-axis and bar
graphs on retention, which claim to support
a trend without any recognisable analysis in
that regard.
What if we had to listen to only either Helen
Clark or John Key for an hour before voting in
the General Election? What is going on here?
At least, those who do attend a meeting should
be able to carry proxy votes for other members.
Let’s please improve on our democracy, and,
if we make a mistake, we learn the hard way.
What a very reasonable risk to run, and small
cost to pay, for learning to think for ourselves.
Cliff Hamilton
(Dunedin)
The issue of proxy voting was raised and
discussed at the last Annual Conference of
the NZ Police Association. As a result of that
discussion, working parties were formed
around the country to look into the matter and
as a result recommendations will be put before
Annual Conference this year. – Editor.
There is no “I” in “team”
I write this letter in relation to our colleagues
who have been authorised to wear their
customary head dress as a replacement to our
traditional forage caps. I personally feel this is
a mockery of our uniform and nothing more
than political correctness getting out of hand
once again.
Don’t get me wrong. I understand how
important dress code is to some cultures and
I support people wearing whatever they want
outside of work, but the fact of the matter is
we are supposed to work together as a team
and take pride in our uniform and everything
that it stands for. What happened to “you wear
what your partner is wearing”? In my eyes this
portrayed a tidy, professional image on the
street and don’t forget the safety reasons why
we dress the same (a cop wearing a turban on
a skirmish line could well be first in the line
of fire when people are looking for a target to
throw things at).
If we keep allowing these changes to happen
where do we stop? Should religious people
be exempt from working holy days? Should
weaponry such as ceremonial daggers be
allowed to be carried by staff? Maybe with
my Chinese descent I can start wearing a
customary silk hat instead of my forage cap or
maybe even a rice paddy hat as a replacement
for my akubra?
We should all be proud to wear our full
uniform and stand tall because of it, regardless
of our religion, gender or ethnic background.
Callum Young
(Auckland)
The truth about violent crime
Violent crime increases yet again but only
because of increased reporting.
Minister of Police Annette King says Police
deserve much credit for uncovering the extent
of the problem.
Yet any decrease in crime is directly related to
good police work and has nothing to do with
lack of focus or resources in that area? What a
joke. Laughable if it wasn’t at the expense of
crime victims.
Nick Plant
(Auckland)
Time to draw a line in the sand
for drug dealers and gangs
The senseless execution-style murder of a serving
police officer is heartbreaking. Regretfully, it will
come to many as no surprise because meth labs
and tinny houses have continued to proliferate
our neighbourhoods unabated.
Could it take this tragedy to shake the
Government out of its stupor?
Because preceding the Mangere murder was
the brutal shooting of a man on his Papatoetoe
doorstep and the cold blooded killing of a boy
outside his home in Manurewa. Drug dealing
and the P epidemic underpin countless acts
of mindless violence, much of which goes
unreported. But because these particular
victims didn’t happen to be a serving police
officer, the Government barely flinched concerned more with their own survival of the
political kind.
Recent proposals involving banning gang
patches and merging Serious Fraud with
Organised Crime demonstrate the level of sheer
ignorance that is our current Government.
Banning patches will help gangs take their
business of drug dealing further underground.
Merging Serious Fraud and Organised Crime
will achieve against gangs what merging the
MOT with Police did for fighting crime…
absolutely nothing.
Gangs exist for one purpose: to deal drugs
in return for money or services, including
prostitution. The victims are our children and
anybody else vulnerable and foolish enough
to indulge. The victims are also their families,
friends, co-workers, employees, employers
and clients.
The solution: It’s time to draw the line in
the sand. Drug dealing is the soft-underbelly
of organised crime and that’s where law
enforcement needs to aim its sights. Give the
Police what they need to fight the war on gangs
and drugs - the people, tools and laws to do it.
Partnering Police with the Army could be one
way to achieve the manpower and the muscle.
After all, this is a war we are fighting in our
own back yard, and we’re losing badly.
Make the punishment outweigh the benefit
for dealers and manufacturers. No leniency.
No bail. No parole. Underneath it all, we must
restore strength to families and demand that
fathers take responsibility for their sons and
daughters. Families hold the key because our
kids are the ‘demand,’ which is creating the
supply.
A ‘cop killing’ is the diet of a younger generation
fed daily by media, music, movies and video
games. They’re probably the least surprised or
concerned of any of us. And that’s because in
their minds, it’s normal.
Richard Lewis
(Leader Family First Party)
Love the work, hate the pay;
Hate the work, love the pay
I was a frontline police officer at Auckland
Central for three years. I have taken two years
LWOP (Leave Without Pay) because - to be
Wanted: Touch Rugby teams
The New Zealand Police Association South
Island Police Touch Rugby Tournament is being
held on Sunday 23 November 2008.
This is a tournament for all ages and abilities.
It will once again be held at the Woodend Rugby
grounds, Gladstone Road, Woodend.
If requested, transport can be provided between
Papanui and Woodend before and after the
tournament. Bookings are essential.
This is a great family day out with loads of free
entertainment for the kids. Entry fee is only
$200 per team. Bookings for transport and
team entries close 9 November 2008.
For further details on the contact person in
your area, please Email or phone Tony Maw
at the Rangiora Police Station on
(03) 313 2683, 35783 or
[email protected]
November 2008
261
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
quite frank - I couldn’t afford a half decent
lifestyle in Auckland on a Police salary. And
I’m not talking about living the high life or in
‘upper class’ suburbs. Banks would only offer
me enough (or mostly not enough) to buy in
the less desirable areas, or in reality, the areas
where most of our “clients” tend to live. The
same went for my partner too and I’m sure
our story is common among fellow underpaid
police officers, especially in Auckland.
In the end, to have some quality of life I went
house-sitting – although it’s not quite the same
making yourself comfortable in someone else’s
home while living out of a suitcase.
In the end, we had had enough and, yes, my
partner and I became one of “those” Kiwis
who have made the journey to the minefields
of Western Australia.
Yes, the money is good. Yes, we get free
accommodation and food. I am debt-free
and finally able to save. However, driving a
100 tonne truck on a 500 metre journey 50
odd times a day at between 8-30 kph is not
remotely exciting…or even interesting. In
fact, I hate it. I would love to come back to
the Police and engage in investigating crimes,
chasing burglars around backyards and even
just patrolling the streets and talking to the
public. It’s a job I love. I had hoped for a long
and fulfilling career.
My two years LWOP is up in September next
year. I will have to make the big decision that if
I return to the Police I will have to put up with
a salary that does not even begin to reward and
thank the many hardworking and often liferisking officers.
Come on! We need a hefty pay rise with paid
overtime or else policing is becoming a nonviable career.
Then again when the powers that be baulk at
paying $3,000 for my partner to be flown back
for a drugs trial, preferring a deal to be taken, I
guess you have to wonder – but that’s another
story.
Sarah Critchley
(Marvel Loch, WA)
A word on pay from the frontline
If our union representative was in any doubt
over the mood of the members in Waitakere
in relation to the pay round, I’m sure he left
that ratification meeting with a crystal clear
message: Police in Waitakere are angry,
feel undervalued and are frustrated that the
Association isn’t pushing our case more
strongly.
We sat through an hour of stats and figures telling
us that we’re well paid and the department’s
offer is a good one. Figures can be manipulated
to tell whatever story you want.
All I know is that after 15 years of service
and tertiary education I still have to go to the
Government, cap in hand, for money to put
food on the table for the kids and keep a roof
over our heads.
We’re all hurting over the recent deaths of
our colleagues on duty and those of us on the
frontline are acutely aware of how dangerous
the job of policing our communities has
become.
So how about Police coming to the pay round
with an offer that says: Yes, you guys and gals
are doing a good job and we want to recognise
your efforts with an appropriate pay offer?
Kevin Morgan
(Henderson)
Flogging petrol not a Police
matter? Yeah Right!
In Te Kuiti Occurrences dated 8th October
2008 I noted a message passed from Hamilton
Central Police Station outlining a new
“Hamilton Police Policy”.
The policy outlined in the Occurrences is as
follows:
“Policy has just been put in place in Hamilton
so that petrol drive-offs are no longer a Police
matter. Complainants forward details though
the Post Office and the matter is followed up via
debt collection agencies with the appropriate
fees attached. A Senior from Hamilton will be
in touch to confirm whether or not the policy
will be applied district wide”.
I am disgusted at the mere concept of this
policy and believe it goes against the very
core of our purpose. This is an unprofessional
policy and in my opinion makes a mockery of
our oath.
We have a duty as police officers to uphold the
law and to bring those who break the law to
justice. The taking of petrol without payment
is clearly theft and could not in any way be
considered anything different. In creating this
policy and not taking/receiving a complaint of
theft we are all guilty of misconduct or serious
misconduct and those that have given the
direction to do so should be held to account.
I can only put this decision down to a lack
of frontline staff/resources and as another
feeble attempt to ‘cook the books’. Whilst
I sympathise with those staff required to
take the complaints (as we are already busy
Assaults on police officers on the rise
Recent figures released by NZ Police indicate that
assaults on police officers have risen 27% in the
last decade with the sub-category of “Crimes
Act assaults” having shown a significant rise of
138% in the same period.
Assaults on police rose 6% in the last year (up
from 2,248 to 2,384).
Crimes Act assaults can cover everything from
common assault to very serious assaults.
In a reflection of what NZ Police Association
President Greg O’Connor recently called a
generational change, which has seen more people
“willing to have a go against police officers” than
in the past, the figures have been steadily rising
262
November 2008
since a reported 1,878 assaults on police officers
during the 1998-99 year through to the 2,385 in
the 2007-08 reporting year.
Crimes Act assaults in the same period rose from
193 to 460.
In a disturbing trend indicative of a rise in
aggravated violence in the general community,
assaults against police officers involving a
weapon of any kind (firearms, machetes, knives
etc) have increased by 72% in the last 10 years,
from 57 in the 1998-99 reporting year to 98 in
the 2007-08 statistics.
The statistics are a stark reminder of the need for
stab-resistant vests.
enough) and know that these thefts will most
likely blow all statistics out of the water, I find
this policy reprehensible.
Hamilton have already centralised most Police
staff. They are taking burglary complaints by
telephone thus losing valuable initial enquiries.
They now only create an electronic file and
don’t bother to create a hard file with relevant
MO (modus operandi) etc (also important to
enquiries).
At every opportunity victims of crime seem
to be referred to another medium such as the
Civil Court and they are most certainly losing
touch with their community. Why is this
happening? I’ll tell you why: lack of staff and
a lack of interest from Police management to
do anything about it. Reducing crime statistics
will not get us more staff.
This policy is a clear indication the bosses have
lost touch with the reality of policing and are
more concerned about making their statistics
look good, to enable them to draw down their
bonuses, than they are about actually reducing
crime.
I believe it is time to thin the top and fatten
the bottom. We would then be able to perform
our duties effectively and not refer complaints
of theft to other agencies.
“Concerned”
(Name and address withheld)
New Zealand Police Association
RTDs blamed for surge in alcohol-related deaths
RTDs, or ready-to-drink pre-mixed spirits, are being blamed
for a surge in alcohol related deaths of young women in New
South Wales. New Zealand police and health workers say they
too are concerned about the effects the drinks are having on
our youth.
A study by the NSW Child Death Review Team, found a 37%
increase in alcohol-related deaths among young females over
the two periods studied, 1996 to 2000 and 2001 to 2005. The
risk for boys aged 14-17 declined 17% over the same period,
according to Stuff.co.nz.
The report said: “The increase in alcohol-related deaths for
females and the declines for males across the two periods
may result from several factors, including the introduction of
alcopops, first sold in Australia in 1995, which particularly
target females”.
Anecdotal evidence
While similar statistics are not taken in New Zealand, police and
health workers say anecdotal evidence backed the Australian
findings.
“I think if we started to gather appropriate data in New Zealand,
we would find the trend is no different. An increasing amount
of alcohol is being consumed by young women and that trend
is led by alcopops,” Christine Rogan, of Alcohol Healthwatch
told Stuff.co.nz.
Sergeant Al Lawn, of the Christchurch Police Liquor Licensing
Section, concurs.
“It doesn’t surprise me the mortality rate would be going up.
You only have to look at the emergency department and the
problems they’re having with drinking. They’ve had a gutsful of
drunks getting in the way of them doing real work,” he said.
Wellington Hospital research last year showed that the numbers
of young drunk women presenting to the emergency department
matched that of young men.
Special accommodation offer for members visiting Wellington over holiday period
Come to the Capital and take advantage of the
great accommodation rate we have negotiated
for our members.
Stay in comfort and style at the West Plaza Hotel and the Bay Plaza
Hotel, which have once again offered their “Special Summer”
room rate to members of the NZ Police Association/Welfare Fund
and their families.
Special Summer Room Rate
For reservations:
West Plaza Hotel
Address:
Freephone:
Phone:
Fax:
Email:
110 – 116 Wakefield Street, Wellington
0800 731 444
04 473 1440
04 474 1454
[email protected]
The Bay Plaza Hotel
Address:
Freephone:
Phone:
Fax:
Email:
40 – 44 Oriental Parade, Wellington
0800 857 779
04 385 7799
04 385 2936
[email protected]
$60.00 + GST per room, per night
Validity
12th December 2008 to 25th January 2009
Booking reference - POL/SUMMER/08-09
Conditions: All rooms requested are subject to availability.
Reservations must be made prior to arrival.
Useful Information & Contacts
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(on matters that cannot be deferred such as Police
Quotes & information
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(027) 268 9416
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(027) 268 9419
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(027) 268 9414
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November 2008
263
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