The Voice of Police
VOLUME 45 • NUMBER 3 • April 2012
Testing
times
Putting the PCT through its paces
Plus:
Eight pages of photos
from the 2012 Australasian Police
& Emergency Games
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
The Voice of Police
VOLUME 45 • NUMBER 3 • april 2012
Police News is the magazine of the New Zealand Police
Association, originally the New Zealand Police Journal, first
published in 1937.
April 2012, Vol. 45, No.3
ISSN 1175-9445
Deadline for next issue Friday, April 13 , 2012.
Revealing techniques: The Document Examination Team
has produced vital evidence in some of the country’s most
notorious crimes, p70.
Published by the New Zealand Police Association
P.O. Box 12344, Willbank House, 57 Willis St, Wellington 6011.
Phone: (04) 496 6800, Facsmile: (04) 471 1309
Editor: Ellen Brook
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.policeassn.org.nz
Printed by City Print Communications, Wellington.
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
Penguin country: Senior Constable Darryn Buist was a man
among emperors when he visited Antarctica recently, p62.
From the President
59
Message from ICPRA
59
Watch out for advertising approaches
60
Association planning meeting
60
Tagging app initiative
60
Our hottest police baker
61
Digging for victory
61
Journey to Antarctica
62
Christchurch Police Station on the move
Cover story: Proposed changes to the PCT/Police fitness
Board games: Constable Sam Johnson, the Open Men’s
winner at the recent Police Association Surfing Championship
in Kaikoura, p79.
Roped in: An Australian women’s team go hard at the Police &
Emergency Services Games tug of war. See centre pages.
Cover: He makes it look easy . . . We explain what proposed
changes to the physical competency test may mean for you,
p63. Photo: SUPPLIED BY NEW ZEALAND POLICE COLLEGE
58
April 2012
62
63-67
Police Home Loan News: House destroyed as wounded cop recovers
69
Day in the Life of the Document Examination Team
70
Iam Keen: View from the Bottom
72
Brain Teaser
72
Annual Leave: What you need to know
73
Most Wanted/Flashback
74
Keen on Wine
75
Copper’s Crossword
75
Book Review: More Six Feet Down Under
76
Holiday Homes Availability Chart
76
Holiday Homes rule changes
76
Sports News
77
Memorial Wall
77
Letters to the Editor
78
Association Surfing Champs photos from Kaikoura
79
Useful information and contacts
79
Roadside assistance information
80
Those wishing not to receive a personal copy
of Police News should contact the Editor
([email protected]) to be removed
from the distribution list.
New Zealand Police Association
Don’t blame the troops
The dark arts of political spin-doctoring
visited us last month. Information was
mysteriously leaked to the media that
responsibility for a projected $360
million shortfall in the Police budget
over the next three or four years will be
caused virtually solely by police officers’
need for inflation-adjusted pay increases
and CSIs.
We can only assume that the powers
that be know that a flat line budget will
result in reduced police services, so the
best way to deflect blame is to blame
police officers.
The timing of the leak coincided
with considerable negative attention
on unions, especially the Auckland
wharfies, so was designed to lump us all
in with them.
Considering crime is down, the
road toll is down and public trust and
confidence is up - in other words,
productivity has increased – it’s at best
a tad ungrateful, at worst downright
devious.
The message I’m getting from
around the traps is that while we accept
times are tough, don’t try to blame the
troops for the impact of Government
policy.
Already, the effects of redeploying
staff to implement new initiatives is
putting the squeeze on those trying to
satisfy demands for service, so it’s going
be a hell of a job to hold on to the gains
we’ve made with what we’ve got.
We try to play a long game here at
the Association. It’s not too much to
hope, and expect, that all the players
with skin in the law and
order game do the same
thing.
‘Governments at all levels – from municipalities to national governments – need to acknowledge
that law enforcement officers are entitled to the same civil rights as other citizens,
including the right to freely associate and bargain collectively.’
Greg O’Connor
Conference issues warning on labour rights for police
Collective bargaining and other
labour rights are being threatened,
eroded or abolished in several law
enforcement jurisdictions around the
world, the International Council of
Police Representative Associations
(ICPRA) has warned.
The group held its biennial
conference in Baltimore last month
and Police Association President
Greg O’Connor was re-elected
as chairman for a further two
years. The organisation includes
representatives of police and law
enforcement associations and unions
from 40 countries, collectively
representing more than 1.5 million
law enforcement officers across
North America, Europe, Africa, and Dress code: An honour guard at the recent ICPRA conference
in Baltimore, Maryland, where Greg O’Connor was re-elected as
Australasia.
chairman.
It has issued a communique
calling on governments worldwide to
“Governments at all levels – from
acknowledge that law enforcement
municipalities to national governments
officers should be entitled to the same
– need to acknowledge that law
labour rights, such as the right to
enforcement officers are entitled to
bargain collectively, as other citizens.
the same civil rights as other citizens,
Those rights were being eroded, often
including the right to freely associate
in the guise of austerity measures claimed
and bargain collectively.”
to be in response to global economic
The importance of effective
conditions, Mr O’Connor said.
representation was highlighted by the
“This is a problem affecting
challenges being faced by the nascent
members in diverse jurisdictions around
Kenya Police Union.
the world – including some United
Kenyan Police had problems with
States jurisdictions, England and Wales,
access to food, water and medical care,
and European jurisdictions such as
especially around their deployment
Hungary, Greece and Latvia,” he said.
to protect against incursions by the
Al Shabaab terrorist group near the
border with Somalia. In the absence
of a union, police officers had
difficulty getting issues effectively
addressed. ICPRA is supporting
the Kenya Police Union as it moves
towards official recognition.
Keynote speakers at the ICPRA
conference, hosted by the Fraternal
Order of Police in Baltimore,
included US Assistant Secretaries
of Homeland Security Alan Bersin
and Louis Quijas, who highlighted
the importance of international
connectedness and information
sharing in effective law enforcement
in the post-9/11 world.
They acknowledged the central
role of law enforcement unions and
associations in helping promote such
a culture shift across law enforcement
agencies worldwide.
Mr O’Connor said: “ICPRA is an
organisation of growing importance
to effective representation of law
enforcement officers worldwide.
The issues we face as representative
associations, and also the issues we and
our members face as professional law
enforcement officers, are increasingly
trans-national in nature. As the Assistant
Secretaries recognised, ICPRA provides
an important vehicle for the building and
sharing of the knowledge necessary to
operate effectively in the modern, global
world.”
April 2012
59
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Telemarketing or email
advertising approaches
The Police Association is from time to
time contacted by businesses checking
the credentials of an organisation called
Sportzbeat, after having been solicited
for advertising by them. This solicitation
usually takes the form of an email
approach. Telemarketing may also have
been used.
Sportzbeat has no connection with
either the Police Association or the
Police Council of Sport, and is in no
way endorsed or supported by either
organisation.
Sportzbeat describes itself as an
independent magazine “promoting
sport and fitness within Australasia’s
law enforcement communities”. Its
information for advertisers claims it
is a six-monthly printed magazine.
However, it is unclear when it publishes,
in what numbers, or where and how it
is distributed. No circulation figures are
presented.
The “current version” of the
magazine on the website, as a PDF, is
from the start of 2010. Its content is
primarily advertising. The few nonadvertorial items reproduce information
about upcoming (in 2010/2011) sport
events that is freely available on the
respective events’ websites. These
are general sports events, such as the
Speight’s Coast to Coast, not Police
sports events.
There is no information on the
website or in the PDF magazine
disclosing who the publisher is, who the
printer is, or the name of any registered
company that owns Sportzbeat. Gmail
email addresses are offered for contacts,
along with a Wellington PO Box number
and an Auckland telephone number. The
website domain name is registered to the
PO Box of a Lotto shop in Wellington,
with an Australian email contact address.
The Police Association would
strongly encourage anyone who is
solicited to place advertising with
Sportzbeat to seriously consider whether
doing so is likely to achieve their
advertising goals.
At the very least, anyone considering
advertising with Sportzbeat should
visit the website – www.policesportz.
com – to assess the organisation they
are dealing with, and see what they
can expect to get in return for their
advertising spend.
The Police Association would
give the same advice to anyone who
is contacted by unsolicited email or
telemarketing from anyone offering to
sell advertising space in a magazine. A
number of such businesses exist, many
of which give the impression they are
associated with or endorsed by respected
organisations such as Police or other
government agencies, or which claim
that advertising with them will help
spread important public safety messages.
Many such publications are simply
vehicles for generating advertising
revenue, and recycle their own or reprint
others’ freely available, non-advertorial
content to give a minimum impression
of substance. It is very important prior
to buying such advertising to establish
that the publication is legitimate, and
produced by a bona fide company with
a genuine physical address. Prospective
advertisers should also check when
and where it will be distributed, that
any circulation claims are accurate, and
check with those people or organisations
the publishers claim receive the
magazine that they are in fact aware of,
actually receive and read the publication
in question. It is not sufficient merely to
ask to receive a copy of the publication
featuring the ad, as these may be printed
in small numbers solely to give false
reassurance to advertisers.
For further advice on protecting
yourself from misleading advertising
approaches see www.consumer.org.
nz/reports/scams/invoicing-scams.
Talking points
The Police Association Board of Directors, managers, and a handful of guest
participants met for a strategic planning session in Wellington in February.
We work in a highly dynamic environment at the best of times and, with
policing currently facing significant change worldwide, the Association identified
this as an important time to pause and assess “where to from here?”
Facilitator Peter Bosworth kept the session focused on identifying the big risks
and opportunities the Association is likely to face in the next few years, and how to
best position ourselves for the future.
The session was only the start of the process, though: National Office will be
very busy in the coming months as a great deal of work now needs to be done to
make sure we are (to borrow a phrase Police no longer needs) “fit for the future”!
60
April 2012
Download: The Stop Tag app being used by some of
the Hastings Police’s tech-savvy officers.
Stop! Your tag is
on a smartphone
camera
The fight against graffiti has been made a
little easier for Hastings Police, thanks to
an iPhone application called Stop Tags.
Police have been able to download
the technology through the Apple
iPhone 4s given to officers taking part in
the year-long Mobility Project trial.
Stop Tags is run by a New Zealand
business called Smartrak. It holds a
database of graffiti photographs taken by
smartphones with the Stop Tags app.
Every time a photo is taken, GPS coordinates are assigned to it.
Police can then access the database
to compare their photographs with
previous tags. This helps them
determine common patterns or identify
graffiti hotspots in their area.
Information from the database also
strengthens cases against any repeat
offenders.
Mobility Project manager Inspector
Simon Feltham says Stop Tags is just
one of many applications that will be
trialled during the project and Police
were pleased with the way officers were
adapting to the technology.
New Zealand Police Association
Our hottest police home baker?
Taking the cake: Ian Coupe with his homemade
carrot cake. He often takes in treats for workmates
on special occasions.
Senior Constable Ian Coupe didn’t have
to give up his day job to take part in this
year’s New Zealand’s Hottest Home Baker
TV show. Instead, the keen baker from
Auckland was able to take time out from
his 14-year policing career thanks to an
understanding and supportive sergeant
and area commander.
Mr Coupe said he made the decision
to audition after “putting it off” for the
past three years.
“Since I first saw the show I had
always thought I should give it a try, so
this year I thought, no more excuses.”
Mr Coupe was unable to disclose
any details of the programme, as it
hadn’t screened yet, but said he was
very happy to have been a contestant.
“I think because I was a police officer,
I was seen as something different as I
didn’t quite fit the mould.”
Mr Coupe said his love of baking
had begun as a child. “I used to bake
a lot with my mother and guess it is
something that I have carried on doing
all my life.”
He said he often bought baked
goods into work to share with his
colleagues. “Everyone seems to
appreciate them and there is always
someone celebrating a special occasion
so there are plenty of opportunities to
take something in.”
He especially enjoyed baking
desserts and could do a mean lemon
meringue pie, lavender shortbread and
chocolate muffins.
However, the ultimate was his nobake chocolate peppermint pie, which
always went down a treat at home and
at work.
Scooping the prize: Sam digs for victory
Palmerston North Constable Sam Scott
had not used a digger since leaving his
construction job last year to join Police,
but that didn’t stop him taking out the
runner-up spot in the National Excavator
Operator Competition after previously
winning the Regional Manawatu
Excavator Operator title this year.
Mr Scott entered the regional contest
last year, but missed out on first place by
half a point.
The 22-year-old constable said he
was pleasantly surprised with how well
he did this year. “Naturally, I wasn’t sure
how I was going to go, because I hadn’t
used a digger for nearly a year. It felt
really good to win, because I only missed
out by half a point last year.”
Point 1 per cent was all that separated
him from the top spot at the nationals,
as well.
“Once again, I was pretty nervous
because I hadn’t had time to practise
before the nationals as I didn’t have
access to a digger.
“I guess one of the good things this
time around, though, was that I didn’t
have the pressure on me to do so well
this year, as I wasn’t working in the
industry anymore.”
He believed that was the secret of
his success. “I was able to relax and
concentrate on the task at hand, and just
get on with it.”
The national, two-day competition,
held in Feilding last month, involved
loading challenges, operator skills,
industry knowledge tests and the “surprise
Here, let me get that:
Constable Sam Scott (left,
in the cab of his digger)
pours tea into glasses and
retrieves a ball. He says
the delicate tasks are his
favourite as they require
a high level of skill and
concentration.
challenge”. This year, it was pouring a cup
of tea and popping a beer bottle cap with
a bottle opener, using a digger.
“This was one of my favourite parts
of the competition, because it involves a
high level of concentration and skill,” Mr
Scott said.
Event organiser Malcolm Abernethy
said Constable Scott had been a popular
contestant. “He’s a very good excavator
operator who is observant, serious about
the task at hand, and takes note of
everything very carefully and then gets
out there and does a great job.”
April 2012
61
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Most
southern
man
Being based in Mosgiel, Darryn Buist
is used to working “down south”, but
recently he went the extra distance – all
the way to Antarctica.
The senior constable was part of a
50-strong crew, led by economist and
author Gareth Morgan, on a Heritage
Expeditions trip to the sub-Antarctic
islands and Scott Base, which is part
of the Ourfarsouth project to raise
awareness of the issues affecting the
vulnerable continent.
Darryn says he has always had an
interest in the pristine and sensitive
nature of Antarctica and its outlying
islands and felt privileged to be on such
a journey. The crew included several
scientists and some more high-profile
visitors such as comedian Te Radar,
author John McCrystal, entertainer
and broadcaster Nick Tansley; and two
former police officers, Patrick Lynch
and Barry McLellan.
Ice box: Left, Senior Constable Darryn Buist poses in
his uniform outside his “Antarctic Community Policing
Centre”; aka Scott’s Discovery Hutt; above, meeting
the locals at Macquarie Island.
They travelled on the Spirit of
Enderby, a Russian ice breaker that
makes the trip each year.
Darryn says the voyage was an eyeopener. Each day there were lectures
from on-board experts, including
talks on biodiversity, climate change,
territorial aspirations, overfishing,
tourism and mineral exploration.
“It was educational, but also
disheartening to see how humans are
having such an impact on life in the
engine-house of the world,” Darryn
says.
However, the serious aspects of the
trip did not stop the enthusiastic copper
from posing in his police uniform
at various Antarctic locations with a
sign that read: “Antarctic Community
Policing Centre.” If there was such a
station, no doubt Darryn would be
putting his hand up to man it.
For more information on Ourfarsouth,
visit www.ourfarsouth.org
Temporary Christchurch Central
Police Station costs $18 million
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62
April 2012
The corner of Antigua and Asaph Sts in Christchurch
has been named as the site for a brand-new, $18 million,
temporary Christchurch Central Police Station.
The premises will accommodate 600 Police staff who are
currently either working from the lower levels of the 13-storey
Hereford St building or have been moved to other stations
around Christchurch.
Temporary accommodation was sought due to the
threat of another major earthquake damaging the building’s
internal services, such as water and power. Police will share
the new building with up to 35 staff from the Department of
Corrections.
Christchurch Central Area Commander Inspector Derek
Erasmus said staff were happy to be moving only four blocks
away from the old site.
“They are also pleased to know that the single-storey
building is being built specifically for us. This has given a lot of
them piece of mind in relation to any safety concerns they may
have had.”
Mr Erasmus said the premises would be completed by
the end of October this year, with the design of the building
already completed.
“The process of the build has been very quick, as usually it
takes eight months for the design phase to end, whereas it has
only taken five weeks. The building phase has also been cut
down to 16 weeks when compared with the usual timeframe of
18 months to two years.”
Mr Erasmus said staff would stay in the building for two
to seven years before moving into permanent accommodation,
which they would share with other emergency services.
The location of that site has yet to be determined, he said.
New Zealand Police Association
TESTING
TIMES
COVER STORY
The times for the Police
physical competency
test (PCT) may be
about to change
and that’s got some
officers worried about what they may face at their next
assessment. We explain the likely changes, the reason
for them and attitudes to fitness. By Ellen Brook.
The vast majority of New Zealand police
For 25 years it has been the
officers have no trouble passing the
standard by which police officers
current physical competency test (PCT).
can measure their physical
That’s the good news.
competency for their job.
The bad news is that there are up
In August 2010, a Whanganui
to 600 staff who either have difficulty
police officer, Stephen McCarthy,
passing the test or won’t even attempt it.
54, who had previously failed the
And the truth is that for
PCT, had a fatal heart attack
much of their working day,
after a second attempt two
be it sitting in a patrol car or
months later. The odds were
at their desks, many police
probably stacked against Mr
officers do not need a high
McCarthy from the start. He
level of fitness. However,
was overweight, a smoker
when they are required to run,
and had a heart condition.
crawl, jump and lift, often at a
As a result of his death, the
moment’s notice, they need to STEPHEN McCARTHY:
Palmerston North coroner
be match fit.
recommend that an active
As a result of his death,
the coroner recommend fitness programme, in paid
The evidence of what can
that an active fitness
happen when officers are not
work time, be developed
in good physical condition was programme, in paid
to keep Police staff healthy.
work time, be developed
made abundantly clear during to keep Police staff
That was rejected by
the 1981 Springbok Tour. With healthy.
Police because such a
a call for “all hands on deck”,
regime had already been
it became obvious that not all officers
tried, prior to the PCT, and was
deployed to the frontline were up to
not considered an effective use of
the job and many suffered debilitating
time and resources. The current PCT
injuries. At the time, police officers were
payment ($1408 annually for those who
not required to complete any physical
pass) and PCT leave time (an extra three
training or assessment after graduating.
days a year) were introduced to offset
To address the obvious flaws in
the loss of previous weekly training
staff fitness, Police developed the PCT,
time in work hours.
introduced in 1986. It’s a moderately
However, behind the scenes, and
strenuous test, taking two to five
unrelated to the death of Mr McCarthy,
minutes (depending on age and fitness),
a review of the PCT had already been
designed to represent tasks that a police
commissioned by Police from Otago
officer might be required to perform in
University School of Physical Education.
the course of police work.
Police Wellness and Safety Manager
Stu Duncan
says that while
the PCT was
still considered
an important
tool to determine
fitness, it had not
been validated since
its inception. Although
there had been some
minor reviews in
the mid-80s and 90s,
essentially the test has
not changed for 25 years.
Police wanted to know if it
was still relevant to modernday policing.
The answer, according
to the Otago review,
completed in February
2011, is that the PCT has
stood the test of time well.
However, the same may
not be true of those who
run the compulsory PCT
gauntlet every two years.
The report notes: “The fitness of an
ageing and less physically active police
force is likely a more significant concern
for the New Zealand Police.”
Comments like that are a bit of a
blow for an organisation that prides
itself on having a culture of fitness.
As Stu Duncan says: “The job attracts
fit, outgoing, outdoorsy people.” And
every recruit has to pass the PCT before
Continues p64
April 2012
63
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
COVER STORY
From previous page
they can graduate. So every serving
officer has proved early on that he or she
can pass the test. It’s what happens later
that is the problem.
Mr Duncan says Police are happy
with the PCT pass rate at the moment –
up around a healthy 93 per cent. Those
who fail the test are put on a remedial
programme with a physical education
officer (PEO) to assist them back to
fitness. Sometimes that doesn’t work and,
ultimately, a member could be medically
retired.
That generally doesn’t happen and
Wellington PEO Graham Wallwork says
his concern is that there are some staff
members who haven’t done the test for
10 to 15 years. For various reasons they
are “hiding” from the system, and have
managed to wriggle out of doing the
PCT.
These presumably less healthy
individuals are supposed to be chased
up by the administration. Mr Wallwork
and his fellow PEOs also keep a dossier
on staff who are overdue to complete the
test and send them reminders.
The possibility of revised times – up
for younger members, and down for
older members (see panel, p66) – will
probably make the PCT defaulters at the
older end of the scale even more anxious
about the fitness test.
The PEOs’ strategy with officers
attempting to escape the PCT is to
send them for a doctor’s check to see if
they have any health issues that can be
addressed. Mr Wallwork says most of the
defaulters are not frontline police.
As an organisation, Police encourages
staff to stay fit, but, Mr Duncan says,
there is only so much it can do.
Police Health and Safety Advisor Don
Smart says there is an onus on individuals
in the police force. “It’s a life-long
commitment and a lifestyle choice,” he
says. He acknowledges that “it is harder
as you get older”, but adds: “The fact is, if
you don’t do any exercise the rest of the
year, you will not be fit enough to pass
the test.”
An over-riding view from the
Wellness and Safety team is that the PCT
has to be relevant enough to policing to
“provide assurance that our officers are
not going to put members of the public
or their colleagues in a position of risk”.
Mr Wallwork says statistics show
that, nationally, the number of staff who
would have failed on the proposed new
times, based on comparison with their
old times, was 500. However, half of
those were out by only a few seconds,
which, he says, is easily fixed with just a
bit of extra work.
64
April 2012
DUMMY RUN: Police officers go through the Police College PCT course. The Otago University study of the PCT
has recommended changes to the times and some modifications to the course. Photos: NZ Police College.
Going for gold
ROUGH AND TUMBLE: Police Association President Greg O’Connor, far right, enters the fray at the rugby sevens
during last month’s Australasian Police & Emergency Services Games in Lower Hutt. He played for the Hawke’s
Bay Legends, which won gold after beating Christchurch. Photo: TRACY HALL.
Greg O’Connor knows that it’s natural to
feel a little apprehensive before doing the
physical competency test, especially as
the years stack up. The 53-year-old Police
Association President makes a point of doing
the biennial test, but says he recognises it
can be a challenge for some members, and
there’s always a sense of relief – and huge
accomplishment – at the end.
He completed his last PCT in December
2011, earning a “gold card” P1 pass.
He says it’s really important to do a good
warm-up beforehand.
He maintains his fitness throughout the
year with kayaking, running and hill walking
– and taking the seven flights of stairs to
the Police Association offices.
He’s also learnt to be careful with his
diet following a diagnosis of bowel cancer a
few years ago and is happy to report that
he was given the five-year all-clear just
before he did the last PCT.
He rates the PCT as a fair test of
fitness, but points out that for most police
officers the physical aspect of the job is
often about subduing offenders rather than
running after them.
“I’m lucky in some ways because I
have the right body shape – tall and lean
– to get over the wall [for the PCT]. Some
members who have a different build will
struggle,” he says.
However, having recently got down and
dirty in a sevens scrum at the Australasian
Police & Emergency Games with some
hefty props from the Bay of Plenty, he says
his PCT-fit body actually proved to be no
match for their bulk and power.
New Zealand Police Association
Fit for purpose
COVER STORY
The view from the physical
education officer’s desk.
Officer A had no trouble passing the
PCT when he graduated from Police
College but, 10 years later, and after
having a few years of family life that
has taken him away from his regular
fitness routine, he’s not as confident on
the course, especially when it comes
to the wall. Although he knows the
technique for getting over it, his upper
body strength is diminished. It’s a bit
demoralising for the formerly fit officer.
In a fairly typical case like this,
Police physical education officers
(PEOs) will recommend a fitness
training regime. Wellington PEO
Graham Wallwork says that, barring
major health concerns, a generally
healthy person can regain enough
fitness to pass the test.
“We are here to help,” he says,
but warns: “The onus is still on the
individual.”
Because of the nature of police
work, the sort of fitness that is required
is often intense, short bursts of activity
– much like the few minutes in which
the PCT is run. The type of training
considered relevant includes circuits
and strength work.
After 26 years working as a PEO,
Mr Wallwork says two weighty issues
have come to the fore in recent years:
officers are carrying more equipment
(sometimes up to seven kilograms extra
with a vest and duty belt); and some
officers are struggling with obesity.
His main concern is the increase
in the waistlines of some staff. He
has noted more men with a waist
measurement of more than 100
centimetres. “They may just look a bit
chubby, but are in fact bordering on
obese.”
A little middle-age spread is not
so surprising when the average age of
police officers these days is about 42.
As the Otago report notes: The removal
of the requirement to retire from Police
at age 55, and recent low attrition rates,
has resulted in an ageing police force.
However, the PEOs’ mantra is still:
“When you join the Police, you give up
the right to be unfit.”
“I’m sure some officers will be
concerned about the fitness of their
colleagues,” Mr Wallwork says. “When
WORTH THE WEIGHT: PEO Graham Wallwork at his Wellington Police Station gym. Photo: ELLEN BROOK
push comes to shove and there is
physical confrontation, you would hope
that the person would be physically
competent.”
Therein lies a conundrum faced by
Police. As the Otago report also noted:
“The paradox is that for the remainder
of their work time [when extreme
physical effort is not required] police
work is not physically active enough to
adequately maintain fitness.”
The current PCT was based on a test
used by the California Highway Patrol
(or CHiPs as some will remember from
a certain 70s TV show). Officers are
supposed to complete the test every two
years. After some tinkering in the 80s,
the height of the wall climb was reduced
from two metres to 1.8 metres; in the
90s, those over 50 years of age were not
required to go over the wall, but just to
touch it. The vast majority of officers of
all ages will pass the test with ease.
Mr Wallwork is not so keen on
the wall-touch as an option for the
over-50s. “If you are designing a test,
it should be of a certain standard. It
should be one standard. Touching the
wall altered that,” he says.
He says the Otago
recommendations, including the
altered times, are good ones, based on
sound scientific research. He hopes the
proposals will be implemented.
The only concerns he has heard so
far, he says, are from older staff who
can easily do the test, but are worried
that their P1 rating might drop to a P2.
They will almost certainly all pass the
new times and still get a P1, he says, but
a “gold card” P1 pass is obviously still
highly valued.
Of course, if they only touch the
wall, rather than going over it, they
will not get a P1 pass, even under the
current rules.
Mr Wallwork’s no-nonsense view is
that if you have a uniform on, you are
expected to be able to do the job. Police
officers should take responsibility for
their health. “Go to your doctor; have
regular checks,” he advises.
– Ellen Brook
Have you moved
recently?
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.
April 2012
65
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
COVER STORY
What the Otago researchers found
Participation in the Otago
University study was restricted
to “apparently healthy and
uninjured individuals aged 50
and under”.
The researchers felt
that to test a range of older
subjects under “maximal
conditions” (ie, giving their
maximum effort) would have
required medical supervision
and a level of monitoring that
was beyond the scope and
budget of the project. Safety
considerations meant that
the study did not cover those
aged over 50.
Otago’s view was that the
effect on the over-50s could be
extrapolated from the results.
Seventy-one volunteers
took part in the study – 44
men and 27 women, ranging
in age from 18 to 50 – made
up of 38 Police employees,
the bulk of whom were
constabulary officers, and 33
participants from the general
population.
The researchers compared
performances between a
“maximal test” on a treadmill
– exercising using maximum
effort – with the PCT.
They found that younger
people had to use a greater
percentage of their maximum
capabilities (heart rate and
aerobic activity) than older
members to meet the P2
times. The conclusion was
that older members were
advantaged because they had
to use less of their maximum
capabilities.
The fact that the study
didn’t include subjects over
the age of 50 has concerned
some observers. The Police
Association has expressed
concern that a demographic
representing 16 per cent of
Police has not been involved
in the testing from which
changes to the PCT may be
made.
The Association is in
discussion with Police over
adjustments to existing age
timings. It has suggested an
analysis of the 500 staff who
would have failed under the
66
April 2012
proposed new times to find
out the reasons why.
It suggests there is also
a danger that with adjusted
times, younger members
would not take the PCT
seriously and would not
maintain fitness levels. This
could lead to an overall drop
in fitness levels.
As a brief summary, the
study concluded that:
The PCT is a highdemand, functional test. It
creates a relatively high level
of cardiovascular stress. A
good base level of aerobic
fitness is needed to complete
the test comfortably.
Those with lower aerobic
fitness and high body mass
index tend to perform slower
and have to work harder to
achieve the P2 pass.
Younger participants are
disadvantaged by having to
use a higher percentage of
their maximum capacity than
older participants.
Proposed PCT time changes
The PCT includes most
of the elements of frontline
policing. One task that is
not present is simulated
grappling for subduing a
suspect. The study said a
simulated grappling task
could replace the present
“dummy drag”.
It recommended:
1. That risk stratification of
participants be reviewed
and consideration given to
a thorough cardiovascular
New Zealand Police Association
COVER STORY
From previous page
history of participants
and regular assessment
of cardiovascular risk
factors.
2. The issue of “fairness”
between younger and
older participants be
addressed by one of the
following methods: a
universal time standard;
a more rigorous age and
gender appropriate time
standard (see “times”
panel); time standards
graduated according to
rank; a mixed model
integrating the biennial
PCT with annual fitness
testing.
3. Addressing anomalies
around compliance: ie,
reining in staff who are
avoiding doing the PCT.
4. Standardise equipment
across all regions
5. Modifications to the PCT
course. (See panel below.)
SHOVE IT: The Otago study has recommended eliminating the trailer push from the
PCT on the grounds that it involves very little resistance to either pushing or pulling
and does not seem particularly onerous.
6. Police consider a more
comprehensive approach
to physical activity, health
and the PCT; closer
tracking of staff fitness,
injuries and cardiovascular
risk profiles; annual fitness
testing to augment the
PCT testing; annual PCT
testing for those who
barely make their P2 test
time.
Male Max PCT
GRAPHIC EVIDENCE: The blue line represents the PCT and the dotted lines represent the percentage of male maximal effort
needed, by age group, to complete the PCT. The graph illustrates the point made by the Otago study that younger participants
needed to exert maximum effort to pass the test, while older partipants did not.
Recommended
modifications to the PCT
course:
• Eliminating the trailer push and control.
• Begin the test with a total body task (74kg
dummy weight drag).
• Focus on shorter, more intense runs,
rather than the initial 200m run. Run from
the drag task 27m to the chain link fence.
• Introduce the chain link fence as the
second task.
• A shorter run to the wheel carry task.
• Change the wheel carry so participants
have to pick the wheel assembly up from
the ground and then carry the assembly in
one hand over 6.5m to be placed on the
ground near the balance beam.
• Complete the balance task on a beam
lowered to 0.5m (from 1m)
• Slightly longer run (22m) from the beam to
the horizontal jump.
• Dissuade participants from diving under
the low hurdles by having them touch the
top of the hurdle with two hands (palms
down) before crawling under each hurdle.
• Discard the dummy drag. After climbing
the wall, run back to the grapple bag;
stand the bag up, lift it on to the platform;
lift and transfer it across the platform
clearing the 70mm obstruction; place it
on the platform and then lift and transfer
it back across the platform; place it on the
platform, lift if off the platform, lay it down
and drag it 8m to a line.
• Conclude with an 88m run to the finish
line.
The reasons for the above
proposed modifications
were:
• The trailer push involves very little (and
inconsistent) resistance to either pushing
or pulling. The task does not appear to be
particularly onerous.
• The wheel assembly carry is more difficult
for shorter participants and can be
dependent on the placement of the wheel
in the trailer or if the assembly moved
during the trailer push. “Extracting the
assembly from the rear of the trailer could
•
•
•
•
•
•
Of the recommendations,
five are under consultation
with the Police
Association. The suggested
change to the layout of
the PCT (No 5), detailed
below, has been put on
hold to be considered at a
later date.
be more time consuming and difficult than
the wheel assembly carry.”
The 200m run is a relatively large
portion of the test and is done before
any significant muscular effort has been
completed and poses a challenge for
pacing of the run.
Significant PEO effort and instruction is
involved in getting participants safely on
and off the beam.
With mats in place, most participants elect
to dive under the hurdles, making them
vulnerable to shoulder dislocation.
The wall can be challenging because of
poor technique, insufficient upper body
strength and the effect of cumulative
fatigue on their ability to execute a
powerful jump to the wall.
Passing over the top of the chain link
fence and lowering oneself down the other
side when fatigued has the potential for
loss of control and injury.
The short run to conclude is insufficient
to expose the effect of cumulative fatigue
from the preceding obstacles on an
individual’s running form and ability.
April 2012
67
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
Police Home Loan Package News
Helping with the hidden costs of home buying
When you’re thinking about buying a
new home, it’s important to draw up
a budget so you can manage your
finances properly. Most people factor
in the purchase price and their home
loan repayments, but there are other
costs involved which often aren’t
considered – especially by first home
buyers.
What do you need to think
about?
The costs of buying a home include:
•• Legal fees – you’ll need a solicitor
or conveyancing company to look
after the paperwork that’s
required in transferring the legal
property title from the previous
owner to you. It’s also a good idea
to have your solicitor review any
sale and purchase agreement
before you sign it. Legal fees vary;
as a rough guide you should
expect to pay between $600 $2,000, depending on your
specific situation.
•• Reports and inspections – for
example, you might want to get a
valuation report to make sure that
you’re not offering or paying too
much. You may also want to have
a building inspection done to
identify any potential issues with
the home, and you may want to
get a LIM report from your local
council. The costs for these report
vary but a rough guide is:
•• Insurance – your home is likely to
be your most valuable asset, so
you’ll need to have adequate
insurance (insurance is also a
requirement if you are taking out
a mortgage to buy the property).
The cost of insurance varies with
the size, type and location of the
property
•• Rates and maintenance – first
home buyers in particular often
forget that property owners have
to pay rates to their local council.
Regular maintenance is also
required to look after the
property, even on new homes.
Special offers from ANZ
ANZ have some great home loan
offers currently available. Even better,
these offers are in addition to the
special benefits Police Welfare Fund
members are already eligible for
through the Police Home Loan
Package – including discounts off
Floating, Fixed and Flexible home
loan interest rates and fee savings.
To find out more about the great
offers current available, simply call
0800 722 524 or come in to any ANZ
branch.
– Building inspection – from
around $300
– LIM report – around $200
Terms and Conditions
This material is provided as a complimentary service of ANZ National Bank Limited. It is prepared based on information and
sources ANZ believes to be reliable. Its content is for information only, is subject to change and is not a substitute for commercial
judgement or professional advice, which should be sought prior to acting in reliance on it. To the extent permitted by law ANZ
disclaims liability or responsibility to any person for any direct or indirect loss or damage that may result from any act or omissions
by any person in relation to the material. Package details are subject to change.
More details, including a copy of terms, conditions, fees and a copy of our Reserve Bank Disclosure Statement are available at anz.
co.nz or a request for a copy can be made at any branch. ANZ National Bank Limited.
April 2012
Six months free
Home Insurance
Buying a new home or refinancing can
be an expensive process, even with
today’s lower interest rates. We aim
to make it easier on Police Welfare
Fund members’ pockets. So for the
time being those drawing down a new
Police Home Loan will be eligible for six
months free home insurance through
the Welfare Fund’s Police Fire &
General Insurance*.
Members eligible for the free cover
should contact our Member Services
Team on 0800 500 122. You will need a
copy of your loan document from
The National Bank or ANZ.
•• Moving – you may need to
engage professional movers or, if
you’re doing the donkey work
yourself, hire a truck.
– Valuation report – from
around $500 for a report from
a registered valuer
68
Special offer
Police Home Loan Package
ANZ or The National Bank – it’s your
choice
Whether you’re refinancing, buying your
first home, selling, investing in property,
building or looking for ways to manage
your current home loan – a Police Home
Loan through The National Bank or ANZ
may be able to help.
The Police Welfare Fund Home Loan
package provides attractive benefits to
Police Welfare Fund members and their
immediate family, like:
•No Home Loan application fee
•A contribution of $500 towards legal fees
For borrowing 80% or lower of a property’s
value:
•Discounted floating rates
•0.50% pa off the standard National Bank
or ANZ Flexible Home Loan interest rates
•0.25% off the standard fixed interest rates
Our Police Home Loan package is highly
competitive and flexible.
For more information or to apply for the Police
Home Loan Package visit
www.policeassn.org.nz
The National Bank and ANZ’s lending criteria, terms, conditions and fees apply. A low
equity premium may apply where a loan amounts to over 85% of the property’s value.
A registered valuer’s report will also be required for lending over 80% of the property’s
value. Eligibilty to apply for a Police Home Loan package is at the discretion of the
Police Welfare Fund Limited and applicants must be current members of the Fund.
This home loan package is not available for low documentation home loans or loans
approved through a broker. For a copy of The National Bank or ANZ Disclosure
Statement and full details (including terms and conditions) contact any branch of The
National Bank of New Zealand (part of ANZ Bank Limited) nor the ANZ.
*Police Fire & General Insurance will be subject to the standard underwriting
terms and conditions and is provided through the Police Welfare Fund not by
The National Bank or ANZ. Members are eligible for one period of six months free
Police Fire & General Home Insurance premium only, per member, regardless of the
term of Police Home Loan taken. Police Fire & General Insurance is underwritten by
Lumley General Insurance (NZ) Limited.
11-2011
New Zealand Police Association
House destroyed as wounded cop recovers
Senior Constable Bruce Lamb was
still recovering from having his face
shattered by a gunshot when his home
was shattered by the first Christchurch
earthquake.
The house Bruce shared with wife,
Jill, and their children was all but
destroyed when the September 4 quake
opened a two-metre wide, 2.8-metre
deep crack in the earth. The force of the
quake cracked the house’s foundations
in half and the weight of the roof sank
down on to the door frames, making
it initially impossible to get out of the
house.
The house was red stickered. “The
inspectors wouldn’t even go inside,” he
says.
Coming only two months after
he was seriously wounded during a
callout, in which his dog Gage was also
shot and killed, the earthquake was
another devastating blow for Bruce.
His was one of a relatively small
number of houses to be completely
destroyed in that first quake and he
was immediately in touch with Police
Fire & General Insurance underwriters
Lumley General Insurance.
“They really stepped up,” Bruce
says. “They were very good.”
Bruce’s claim was immediately
assigned to a senior claims handler to
manage.
“He said, ‘This is where we’re at. I’ll
be your contact. Here’s my extension,
here’s my cellphone, here’s everything
you need to know’, and he was just
exceptionally good.”
They talked about finding
accommodation, which Bruce chose to
do himself.
“I found a place that day. I spoke
to Lumley about it. They said, ‘Send
us the contract, we’ll deal with it’.
Because accommodation was at a bit
of a premium at that stage, this place
wanted a deposit for the bond, and they
wanted cash because no banks were
operating. That was just impossible.
So I rang Lumley back again and said,
‘Hey, I can’t do this’. They said, ‘Leave
it with us’, and they arranged a deposit
and just covered all that.”
The next issue was over Bruce’s new
dog. After losing Gage, he had been
given a black Labrador called Mylo.
Trouble was, the new landlord wasn’t
keen on dogs.
Former Police Commissioner Howard Broad examines
the extensive quake damage to Senior Constable
Bruce Lamb’s home. Photo: LUMLEY INSURANCE
Senior Constable Bruce Lamb after Mylo’s graduation
from the New Zealand Police Dog Training Centre in
April 2011. Photo: CHRIS SKELTON/The Dominion
Post
He called the Police Fire & General
claims guy from Lumley again: “I said,
‘We’ve found this place, but there’s an
issue with the dog’. They said, ‘It’s a
Police dog isn’t it? Does it come inside?’
and I said, ‘Not in this lifetime’, and
again they said, ‘Leave it with us’.”
Lumley rang the landlord, explained
the situation, explained that it was a
Police dog and sorted everything out.
“They went well beyond the call of duty,”
Bruce says.
By the end of that first day, he knew
he and his family were in good hands,
and he also knew that not everyone
was so lucky: “We had neighbours
that had called their insurance
companies and they still hadn’t heard
back after four or five days. I think
some of them were overwhelmed,
they weren’t set up to deal with it; but
the person I dealt with at Lumley, like
I say, he was exceptional. Every few
days he’d ring me up and see if there
was anything else they could do.”
Another issue was Bruce’s boat,
which fell into a crack in the earth
created by the earthquake, and
landed on its motor. Bruce says the
Lumley assessor took one look and
knew there was every likelihood the
motor was damaged.
“He said, ‘I’ve got a boat. I’m into
boats. Take that and get it fixed.’
At the same time, you heard of so
many people having battles, saying,
‘My boat fell down a hole and the
motor might be damaged’ and their
insurance companies didn’t want to
know about it. But Lumley were very
proactive.”
To top it all off, knowing about
Bruce’s terrible year, Lumley called
to tell him they were waiving all
excesses on his policies.
The family are all pretty
comfortable in their new house
– it was relatively undamaged by
the February quake, although a
piano went through a wall: “minor,
superficial stuff”, Bruce calls it.
Mylo hasn’t forgotten the first
quake, though. He was a puppy in his
kennel when it fell down a hole in the
Lamb’s backyard in September 2010
and when he looks at his kennel now,
he remembers. “He still sleeps in the
kennel,” Bruce says, “but not through
his choice.”
Police Welfare Fund Services
Manager Pete Hayes says: “Our
insurance staff have worked with
Lumley providing cover for members
through Police Fire & General
Insurance for over a decade. We
review the underwriter every few
years because we want the best
overall insurance experience for
our members. It’s times like the
Canterbury earthquake that reinforce
that our continued relationship with
Lumley has been a good decision for
our members.”
If you’d like to talk about your insurance or get a competitive quote you can contact the
Police Welfare Fund Insurances Team on 0800 500 122 or visit the ‘Insurances’ section of
the Police Association website: www.policeassn.org.nz See back page for more information.
April 2012
69
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
A day in the life of a...
Delving in
the detail
Grisly murders, multimillion-dollar
fraud cases, terrorism threats and
drug deals gone awry are all part of
the forensic document examiner’s
world. The perception that it’s all ink
stains and counterfeit passports is
far from reality, say the document
team based in Wellington. They
have been responsible for producing
vital evidence in some of the most
notorious crimes in New Zealand.
Sophie Erasumson reports.
The document examination service based
at Wellington Central Police Station is often
the first port of call for police because of
the quick results they produce using nondestructive techniques. The team can analyse
print, symbols and writing on almost any
surface including fabric, walls, currency and
electronics.
Marisa Cliff is in her second year of
training to be an examiner. Although she
has a Master’s degree in Forensic Science,
she says most tertiary courses barely touch
on document examination, which means
committing to five years of further training.
“The role encourages investigation,
research, deduction and problem solving,”
she says. “We are taught skills involving
specialist photography, ink comparisons, print
processes and office machine identification.”
Lateral thinking is also important
and examiners often go further than the
investigator has asked, finding pieces of
information that lead police down previously
unsuspected lines of inquiry.
70
April 2012
Press gang: Chief Document Examiner Gordon Sharfe inspects a revealing indentation. Photos: SUPPLIED
Eye for detail: Trainee examiner Marisa Cliff
photographs a match between morphine tablets
that had been cut from a larger blister pack. She
is identifying subtle characteristics of the cut
pattern and other details, such as printed text or
manufacturing striation marks, to match the portion
in question back to the rest of the packet, which a
suspect still had.
develop indentation, hi-tech cameras and
microscopes. Because documents are often
brought to the team before DNA testing
or fingerprinting is done, boiler suits and
gloves are worn to protect evidence from
any contamination.
Examiners work on a range of cases, but
homicides, threatening letters and ransom
notes get priority and results can be produced
within hours.
They also work on government cases
ranging from counterfeit passports and
money to documents relating to serious fraud.
If a case goes to court, the examiner’s
findings are presented to a jury on exhibit
charts.
“It should not be magic, we need to
present findings in a way that anyone can
understand how graffiti on a wall matches a
handwriting specimen or how the indentations
underneath a note link to the accused”, Mr
Sharfe says.
The first six months of the role is what Chief
Examiner Gordon Sharfe describes as “top
heavy”. Time is spent learning how to use
the equipment and the theory behind how
an examiner approaches a case. A variety
of tools are used, including machines to
The burnt notebook
Patience and a delicate hand are key skills
as examiners may spend hours with a pair of
tweezers and a microscope handling delicate
or damaged documents. One such case
involved a fragile notebook connected to a
suicide case in which a man killed himself by
New Zealand Police Association
setting himself and his car alight. Police found
a severely burnt notebook underneath the
body. The challenge was to try to separate
the pages, where a small amount of ink was
still visible, without them disintegrating. In a
rather grisly twist, it turned out the notebook
had absorbed some fats and oils from the
body which meant the pages were easily
separated. The writing on the paper was then
photographed using polarised light, bringing
the words into clear view.
The Tony Stanlake case
The document examiners also worked with a
cellphone in the case of murdered Wellington
man Tony Stanlake whose mutilated body
was found washed up on the Wellington coast
in 2006. His convicted killer Daniel Moore
was in a cannabis growing partnership with
Mr Stanlake. Following the murder, Moore
burnt evidence that included fragments
of a cellphone. The team was brought in
to determine if the phone was linked to
the victim.
Examiner Nicole Walker says this
complicated case required the use of hi-tech
photographic tools. “We started looking at the
fragments at a microscopic level, magnifying
the chips. We enlarged a photo of a chip by
1500 times, which showed a serial number
that we linked to the chip makers in America.
They confirmed the brand of the phone that
contained the chip and eventually we got this
down to the provider, which was Telecom.
We then worked back to confirming the
model, which was the same model as Mr
Stanlake’s phone.”
Handwriting
The team say the characteristics of a person’s
handwriting are “as individual as their
fingerprints”. Handwriting is microscopically
examined and compared to specimens from
a known writer, such as handwriting on
official documents. Examiners look at all of
the features of the handwriting, including the
shape and construction of letters, spacing,
and slope and writing pressure.
“One of the difficulties with anonymous
letter writers is that they characteristically
have a clean criminal record, which means
fingerprints on a letter cannot always be
matched. We rely quite heavily on handwriting
matches and indentations to determine
authorship”, Ms Walker says.
Indented writing is an imprint created on
underlying pages when writing is completed
on a piece of paper above. Reading
indentations is a useful form of connecting
evidence, such as linking the author of
a threatening note to a crime. The team
use a tool called an electrostatic detection
apparatus (ESDA) to detect indentations.
The ESDA machine works by an electrostatic that detects subtle disturbances to the
Matching sets: Document technician Nicole Walker examines a document for an altered entry by comparing the
font in the questioned entry with that used in the rest of the document. Gordon Sharfe explains: “The machine
she is using (a Video Spectral Comparator) allows an image to be overlaid with a live image in false colour. The
red details are the stored image (with the questioned entry) and the green details are the live image. When you
overlay a character and the two images intersect you get a black image. Any subtle differences in the character
are visible as red or green areas outside the black. If you zoom in on the picture you can see that the two number
“5”s she is comparing have been completed in different fonts as there is misalignment showing up in red and
green.”
paper surface. The paper is held flat under a
protective film, while toner-coated beads are
spread over the top showing any indents from
as far back as three or four pages of writing.
“Often, indentations from anonymous
letters are the only significant evidence we
have. This is why it is so important that
we check for indentations as soon as the
evidence arrives. Fingerprinting destroys any
hope of seeing indents, whereas the ESDA
is completely non-destructive and will still
allow for fingerprints to be looked at”, Ms
Walker says.
White powder and the PM
Indentation evidence quickly provided police
with a suspect when an anonymous letter
containing white powder was sent to then
Prime Minister Helen Clark, causing the
evacuation of the Beehive’s eighth floor.
“It was a text-book case,” says Mr
Sharfe. “The sender had written another letter
on a page above, leaving indentations that
included their name and home address.”
The Police then obtained other
documents known to have been written by
the suspect. The handwriting comparison
confirmed the identity of the writer, enabling
a police officer to make a quick arrest, secure
in the knowledge they had the right person.
As well as pointing to suspects,
indentations can provide other useful evidence,
such as the successful Serious Fraud Office
prosecution of a fraudster who obtained $8
million in area health board funds.
In that case, indentations provided physical
evidence that showed the “contracts” and
other documents justifying the transfer of the
money over several years had in fact been
created together at one time.
The team really enjoy the investigative
element of their work. Mr Sharfe says: “Often
people have no idea what we are capable of
finding; you never know what you will come
across when you look closer at documents.
No matter how long you have been an
examiner, no one person has all the answers;
it’s a team effort and we are all still learning,
that’s the beauty of it”.
Take note: Nicole Walker inspects a banknote with
the aid of a microscope.
April 2012
71
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
they’ll need to put a little extra in
the budget for it.
Achy-breaky heart
It seems Wellington has a
problem with the Prevention
First “model” roster because
they don’t have enough staff.
Forgive me for showing-off, but
having suggested this some
time ago, I’m still a bit unfazed
by the rollout. Sure, violent
offences ramp up with alcohol
and weekend night-time hours,
but focusing our peak load
rostering around Friday, Saturday
and Sunday nights tackles only
one part of our core business.
A recent insurance company
survey stated that most burglaries
occur between the hours of 8am
and 4pm (although some of us
might know that already). Family
violence occurs around the clock,
while fraud prefers business
hours. And I need not tell you that
our paperwork requires a sundial
in the arctic summer.
Perhaps mobile policing will
produce more effective use of our
time, cutting down on trips back
to the office to type up reports.
Frontline officers packing tablets
and smartphones will be able
to access important information
without leaving the scene. But
what about the paperwork? Are
we also supposed to save time
by filing reports via email while
sitting in our cars? I suspect
so, but keep in mind that whole
lifetimes may be lost while
ham-fisted colleagues try to type
reports on mini touchpads with
a single, chewed-off fingernail.
And passing motorists may start
to wonder about all the officers
in parked patrol cars who appear
deeply fascinated by their laps.
Eventually we would end
up back at a desk to bang out
the numerous documents for
prosecution files: prosecution
cover sheet, NIA file cover sheet,
report to prosecutor, criminal
history report, summary of facts,
72
April 2012
court victim referral form, victim
support referral form, victim
statement, witness statement,
CYPS referral form, offender
statement (transcribed and
typed), POL400 form, exhibit
schedule, disclosure schedule
(with copies of summary of
facts/criminal history/offender
statement/victim statement/
witness statement/previous family
violence history), etc.
Fear not. I have the perfect
time-saving, hi-tech, futureproofed, on-site solution. It’s
called a notebook. You take a
stylus (aka, a pen) and use it on
a tablet (aka, a piece of paper)
and enter (aka, write down) a
summary of facts. Note that I say
summary. Below that you enter
the names and addresses of
all parties. The holy grail of this
technology is that one day you go
to the office, copy this notation,
delete the inappropriate names
and addresses, attach a cover
sheet and send it to court. Job
done. In a tenth of the current
time.
DPS for less
The grapevine has it that DPS is
being reviewed because they’re a
good whack over budget. Did our
VIPs just become more expensive
to babysit or is there another
reason?
Snoop-dog Iam Keen can
tell you that, even without events
such as elections and Rugby
World Cups, more staff are doing
longer hours on the protection
teams, and they’re going more
places. With the nine-hour rule
and Toil reduced to three hours
in the collective agreement (for
good reason), the build-up of
Toil means there’s a payout.
Last I heard, the DPS hourly rate
was looking pretty attractive. I’m
thinking that if our politicians
require the protection of our
suits-and-sunglasses squad,
Garden City sardines
And we thought we had problems
last year. Our tower block is
being closed due to “OSH issues”
and, in the meantime, all the
upper floors worth of staff will be
packed into the first four floors
until the day we move to our new
container cans in the temporary
hub. Even for those of us who
survived the street portaloos, this
is a frightening prospect.
In the interests of mutual
wellbeing, I’m putting some
office rules out there for all my
colleagues to honour during this
intense and intimate period:
1. No snotty noses. At all. Not
even the slightest drip or we’ll
all go down.
2. No high fibre diets. Say no
more.
3. No garlic. As above.
4. No harsh fabrics. To avoid
close-shave rash.
5. Most importantly, no breathing
out.
Keep safe
See ya
Try our five-minute quiz
Answers at the bottom.
1. Which actor who never
won an Oscar for
acting won an Oscar
for directing the 1980
film Ordinary People?
2. With which musical
would you associate
the songs, I Feel Pretty,
Something’s Coming
and Somewhere?
3. Which country is
known as the Land of
the Midnight Sun?
4. In the Bible who
ordered Samson’s hair
to be cut off?
5. What bird is the
international symbol of
happiness?
6. What contest of team
strength was an official
Olympic event from
1900 to 1920?
7. What is the common
name for ascorbic
acid?
8. If you suffer from
gallophobia what are
you afraid off?
9. What stands between
Piccadilly and Regent
St on a Monopoly
board?
10. What do the letters
IMHO stand for
in internet chat
abbreviations?
Answers: 1. Robert Redford
2. Westside Story. 3.
Norway 4. Delilah. 5. The
bluebird. 6. Tug of war
7. Vitamin C. 8. The French.
9. Go to Jail. 10. In my
humble opinion.
Lap glancing
Meanwhile, Pete’s singing the
old hard-times song, telling us
the next four years are going to
be tough, with no pay rises and a
request to give up our CSIs so we
don’t lose jobs and colleagues.
And, yes, we are being asked to
work more shifts, more weekends
and more hours overall. A little
falling-on-swords to help us stay
within our allocated and stagnant
budget.
But, darn it, I look around
and they’re not replacing all me
mates who are slowly retiring or
leaving, which I could swear is
job-cutting by attrition. And if I’m
picking up the extra work they
leave behind, why would I feel
obliged to give up part of my pay
as well? It’s a slippery slope, I
reckon.
New Zealand Police Association
Annual leave: how it works
Entitlement
Constabulary employees are entitled to 20 annual leave days (25 after
five years’ service), 11 statutory holidays and 2 Commissioner’s days
(there is no entitlement to Commissioner’s holidays after five years).
Non-constabulary employees are entitled to 20 days annual leave (25
after 5 years), 11 statutory holidays and 3 Commissioner’s days. For
non-constabulary, two of the statutory holidays (Anzac Day and Waitangi
Day) are not transferable (ie, “Mondayised”) if they fall on a weekend
(there is no entitlement to Commissioner’s days after five years).
How does leave accrue?
Annual leave is accrued on a fortnightly basis. Employees with less
than five years’ service accrue 6.15 hours annual leave per fortnight.
Employees with more than five years’ service accrue 7.69 hours annual
leave per fortnight. Statutory holidays and Commissioner’s days are
accrued as they occur.
Leave year
Every employee has their own “leave year”, which starts from the
anniversary date of joining Police. For example, if an employee joined
Police on October 15, 2001, their “leave year” for this year is October
15, 2011, to October 15, 2012.
Police managers often use the date of June 30 to manage leave
because this is the end of the financial year and they want to reduce
the annual leave budget. However, this date has no relevance to
employees’ leave-year dates. Leave management should be tied to the
employee’s leave year, as this is when they start accumulating their
next year’s leave entitlement.
Taking leave
The Holidays Act states that the “when” of taking annual leave is by
mutual agreement and an employee’s leave request should not be
unreasonably declined.
Directions to take leave
The Holidays Act states that an employee can be directed to take leave when:
• There is no agreement between the employee and the employer (ie,
Police) over when leave is to be taken. A direction can only apply to
annual leave that has been accrued and not taken within 12 months
of the leave being accrued. A direction to take leave should be a last
resort. Reasonableness would require that before a direction is issued,
discussions are held between the employee and manager along with
real attempts to come to an agreement over when the leave is taken.
• The employer has a “close down” period (for example, the employer
“closes down” over the Christmas-New Year period).
If a direction is being issued, Police must give the employee 14 days’
notice The best way of avoiding directions is to have a leave plan.
Leave plans
Police can expect employees to have a leave plan – this is a reasonable
and sound expectation for managing leave. The leave plan should cover:
• The employee’s particular leave year and ensure employees can
take their leave;
• Ensure employees are properly consulted about taking their leave,
so they can, as far as possible, take leave when they want to. Any
discussions about leave should be a two-way street;
• Take operational requirements into account – both employees
and managers need to plan around this. Police should not cancel
an employees’ leave at the last minute when an operation could
have been planned earlier or if an operation can occur when the
employee returns from leave;
• Be flexible. The leave plan is a “living” document, so it should
have some flexibility because amendments may well be needed
due to unforeseen operational requirements and changes to the
employee’s personal circumstances. The main consideration here
is reasonableness. It is reasonable to expect employees to have a
leave plan, but a reasonable plan would include some flexibility.
Accumulation of leave
Employees do not have to take their whole leave entitlement in one
year. Under their respective collective agreements, all employees can
accumulate all their leave, accrued over 18 months, without approval
from Police.
For all Police employees this leave can be a combination of
annual leave, statutory holidays, Commissioner’s days (where
appropriate) and shift workers leave. Constabulary employees can
also include PCT leave. For example, a constabulary employee with
more than five years’ service can accumulate up to 66 days over 18
months. This leave can be made up of:
• 37.5 annual leave days
• 16.5 statutory holidays
• 7.5 shift work leave
• 4.5 PCT leave
In reality, statutory holidays are unlikely to be accumulated by many
employees because they will have the day as leave as they are not
operationally required to work on that day.
While leave can be accumulated, the purpose of leave is rest and
recreation which is an important part of employees’ health and safety.
Therefore, employees should be aiming to take most of their leave in
the year it is accumulated rather than hanging on to it like a comfy
blanket “in case something happens”. That said, it is reasonable to
accumulate leave for a specific purpose such as an overseas trip,
family visiting or a sports tournament. This should be covered in a
leave plan so Police are aware that the leave is being managed.
Annual leave and other leave
Employees’ annual leave balances should not affect their
entitlement to other leave. For example, employees’ applications for
study leave should not be declined because they have “too much”
annual leave.
Members
- don’t miss out
on great discounts
discounts!
Specsavers is now a member of our discount
programme. They offer our members significant discounts
over a range of services and eyewear.
To find out about these and other discounts through
the Member Discounts Programme – go to our website
www.policeassn.org.nz, sign-on, then click on ‘Member
Discounts’ from the ‘Products & Services’ menu. You need
to be logged in to view the discounts.
April 2012
73
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
New Zealand Police Association
most wanted
The Guard
ANZAC tributes
There’s an old joke about the difference
between a bagpipe and an onion. Punchline:
No one cries when you chop up a bagpipe.
But the truth is that the sound of the pipes
will often bring a sentimental tear to the eye.
So take a hanky if you’re planning to attend
any Anzac Day parades or services this
year. Brass bands can have a
similar effect. The Dalewood
Band, New Zealand’s 2011
Band of the Year, will
perform an Anzacinspired programme
on April 22 and April 29
at the Centrestage Theatre in Orewa. The
last concert Dalewood performed there sold
out. For details visit www.nzbrass.com. If
you prefer a more contemporary sound,
check out The Anzacs, a New Zealand and
Australian rock tribute band, who will play at
Christchurch’s Pierside Cafe and Bar from
8.30am on Anzac Day.
Fitness
Walking just got smarter! That’s the catch
cry of “Nordic walking” enthusiasts. Not
content with just putting one foot in front of
the other, they use a couple of poles, similar
to ski poles, to propel themselves along in a
manner that apparently burns almost double
the amount of calories of ordinary walking,
much like using a crosstrainer at the gym.
The Nordic Walking NZ (NWNZ) group says it
provides a total body workout and improves
co-ordination, balance and aerobic fitness.
And it’s convenient. You can do it on almost
any terrain, including grass, sand, gravel,
tarseal, concrete and bush tracks. It can
look a bit strange to the uninitiated, which
is perhaps why Nordic walkers tend to do
it in groups. To find out more, visit www.
nordicwalkingnz.co.nz.
The Guard, out now on DVD, stars Brendan
Gleeson as Sergeant Gerry Boyle, an
unorthodox, drug-taking policeman in
Connemara, in the west of Ireland, who has a
fondness for prostitutes. Boyle is teamed up
with humourless American FBI agent Wendell
Everett (Don Cheadle), who is investigating a
Galway-based drug-smuggling ring. Naturally,
the odd couple don’t hit it off, but they
eventually form an unlikely alliance as Everett
realises that beneath Boyle’s small-town, naive
persona, there is an incorruptible man with a
real sense of justice. The trio of drug smugglers
they chase are played with gusto, with a
particularly funny turn by Mark Strong. Gleeson
also turns in
a stellar
performance in
this well-paced
and thoroughly
entertaining cop
comedy-thriller.
flashback
Home of the illicit brew
In 1929, in Southland’s Hokonui Hills,
everybody knew that Duncan Stewart was
making illicit whisky, and making a good
living selling it, but nobody knew exactly
where his still was. At the behest of Customs
officers, many police took part in raids to
find and destroy stills making the legendary
Hokonui “poteen”, but it was a long time
before they tracked down the still belonging
to Stewart.
In a report in the New Zealand Police
Journal, February 1939, an officer who was
with the raiding party recalls what happened
when they found empty kegs in a pigsty on
Stewart’s farm. “Confronted with what we
knew, Stewart coughed violently, and directed
us up the gully. Through a bog we plodded
along, through slime and mud; then, pulling
away bramble in an opening the muchcoveted still was exposed. But it had been
dismantled and the brew had disappeared.
However, this cost Stewart £500 and finished
that still.”
74
April 2012
In another sortie, the Awarua still
(pictured) was discovered in marshland:
“Hidden in the scrub were found 86 gallons
of illicit whisky. With each policeman to a
wicker keg pulling the cork at the order of
the Collector of Customs, and running that
precious beverage into mother earth, the
scene was as sad as any funeral.”
These days, the moonshine made
famous by law-breaking early settlers is
legally brewed by the Timaru-based Southern
Distilling Company.
According to the company’s website,
it uses a recipe from 1895 used by the
infamous McRae family, also a favourite
target of police raids.
Back in Gore, Hokonui whisky is the toast
of the town these days, celebrated at the
Hokonui Moonshine Museum and with the
annual Moonshiners Festival.
New Zealand Police Association
by Luke McMahon
Fruit of the Forrests
A good way to find out more about wine,
and work out what you like, is by popping
in to in-store tastings. Most specialist wine
retailers hold free tastings from time to time,
where a winery or distributor will showcase a
few different wines. Tastings are usually run
by a rep, who talk to you about the wine, and
answer any questions about the style or how it
was made.
I recently tasted the latest releases from
Marlborough’s Forrest winery, at Wineseeker
in Wellington. Forrest is a well-established,
but still relatively small winemaking operation
run by Dr John Forrest, and Dr Brigid Forrest.
Hence the plural “doctors” in the name of their
popular The Doctors’ range of wines.
The wines I tasted were from the
eponymous Forrest range and were all
impressive, characterised across the board by
a fine balance between intensity of fruit, subtle
complexities and elegance on the palate.
The Forrest Pinot Gris 2011 was
delicately perfumed with floral and fruit
aromas – both the classic apples and pears
often associated with pinot gris, but also some
stonefruit. A hint of spice adds an enticing
intrigue. The fruit is balanced with a gentle
acidity, leading into a pleasant lingering finish.
The wine is off-dry, but that’s more detectable
in the body than in any real perception of
sweetness. For me, New Zealand pinot gris
can be a bit hit and miss: this is definitely a hit.
The Forrest Sauvignon Blanc 2011
provided clear evidence of how much more
you get from the varietal if you spend a wee
bit more than supermarket promo prices. On
the nose, the wine started slightly herbaceous
and gooseberry, developing lusher tropical
notes as it opened up. The tropicals – guava
and passionfruit – are held in check on the
palate by a delicate lemony acidity which adds
crispness without being dominant. A subtle
minerality adds complexity, making for an
elegant and very enjoyable wine.
While The Doctors’ Riesling is made in the
Spätlese style – with relatively high sugar, high
acidity to balance it, and lower alcohol – the
Forrest Riesling 2010 is more of a classic
riesling. It is fermented to off-dry (14 grams
per litre of residual sugar, compared with 42
grams in The Doctors’). The wine has a lovely,
delicate nose intertwining honeyed stonefruit,
and a graphite-like minerality. It has an equally
delicate body, with a limey acidity balancing
the fruit and slight sweetness. The minerality
also comes through on the finish. This has
some time in the bottle already, and is lovely
drinking now, but with a few more years, it
should develop even more minerality, towards
the “kerosene” aromas valued by diehard
riesling fans.
Chardonnay has by turns been wildly
popular and much-maligned by wine drinkers.
What many don’t appreciate is that chardonnay
is capable of delivering a vast range of styles
depending where it’s grown and how it’s
made. Chardonnay haters are usually rebelling
against the fairly one-dimensional, overripe,
butterscotch flavours associated with the
heavily-oaked chardonnay of times gone by.
Quality chardonnay is much more complex
and interesting. Oak treatment is more
subtle – or non-existent – and malolactic
fermentation, which transforms the crisp
acidity usually present in white wine into
a buttery creaminess, is used much more
judiciously. The Forrest Chardonnay 2008
is a good example of chardonnay the way
it should be. Just 50 per cent of the blend
has been oaked and undergone malolactic
fermentation. The result is a nose that gently
combines stonefruit with toasty, buttery notes.
The palate shows pleasant weight, some subtle
oak structure and citric acidity balancing the
rich flavours. Like many of the Forrest wines,
this one also finishes with the subtle minerality
of damp river stones.
The final wine was the Forrest Pinot Noir
2009. This showed beautifully concentrated
floral, dark “fruit of the forest” and cherry
aromas. The fruit was complemented by a
savoury character of dried herbs on the palate,
bound together by gentle acidity and soft
tannins. This elegant Burgundy-style wine
will develop complexity with age and provides
excellent value compared with similar quality
wines from Central Otago.
All the white wines above retail around
$24. The pinot noir sells for about $28.
1 2 3 45 6 7
8
Clues:
9
ACROSS
1. Trikes arranged for bowling term (6)
DOWN
1. Sweat shops? (6)
4. Naughty lawyers can be this (6)
2. Creating to look authentic (13)
1011
9. Some staff may believe they are this
for their actions (13)
3. Gets rid of a bad habit for example (5)
10. Other names used (7)
11. Sees (5)
6. Slang term for public “nosey parkers” at
scenes (13)
12. BBQ item? (5)
7. Fashionable (6)
14. Term for continuing drug abuse (5)
8. Have conviction over thrown (5)
18. Gain pecuniary profit as motive (5)
13. Fingerprint backer (7)
19. Written news (7)
15. Impedes (6)
21. Writes a book together (13)
16. Mayhem (5)
22. Modes (6)
17. Carried by riders of race horses (6)
23. Run from (6)
20. Follow on a track? (5)
5. Charges yet to be dealt with in Court (7)
121314
151617
181920
21
2223
Across: 1. Strike. 4. Barred. 9. Unaccountable. 10. Aliases 11. Views 12. Steak 14. Using 18. Lucre 19. Article 21. Collaborating 22. Styles 23. Alight Down: 1. Saunas 2. Realistically 3.
Kicks 5. Actives 6. Rubbernecking 7. Dressy 8. Quash 13. Acetate 15. Blocks 16. Havoc 17. Weight 20. Trail
April 2012
75
PoliceNews
The Voice of Police
book review
More Six Feet Down Under
by Chris Mann
What happens after we die? Chris
Mann’s book doesn’t answer the big
question, but he pretty much covers
everything else.
Before becoming a police officer in
2003, Henderson-based Constable Mann
was a funeral director for several years.
He filled his first self-published book,
Six Feet Down Under, with anecdotes and
information about the business of death.
He says that book proved so popular he
decided to do a follow up.
Combining a funeral director’s
tact with a police officer’s pragmatism,
Mann’s books tackle the sometimes
indelicate details of what happens to our
mortal remains.
Some of the questions answered in
the first book included: Do I have to have
a funeral? What temperature is needed
for cremation? Do bodies fart?
In the follow up, Mann answers “50
common questions about the funeral
industry”, including: Do I have to
be embalmed? Why are pacemakers
removed from bodies? Why do funeral
directors charge so much?
Plot boilers: Constable Chris Mann finds a suitable location to promote his books.
Although he doesn’t venture into the
spiritual realm, reviewers have noted
that Mann deals with his subject gently
as he tells his sometimes funny, often
sad and occasionally downright bizarre
stories about what goes on behind the
scenes at the funeral parlour.
Chris Mann will donate $2.50
from the sale of each book sold
through Police News to the Police
HOLIDAY HOME AVAILABILITY
April
May
June
Paihia 1-4
6-8,13-17,20-24,27-315-29
Stanmore Bay 1-5,9,18,21-26,28-30
1-31
1-9,13-30
Waiheke Island
26-29
6,17,20-24,27-30
4-7,11-14,17-21,24-29
Whitianga5,26
2-3,7-10,21,31
4-7,10-14,17-22
Auckland1,25
6,13,27,28,31
17-22,24-27,
Whangamata 1-5,26,29-30
1-3,7-11,13-17,21-24,27-311,4-7,10-28
Mt Maunganui
29-30
3,6-10,14-15,17,20-24,28-31
4-7,11-15,17-21,24-30
Ohope3-5,24-25,30
1-31
1-7,10-30
Rotorua
1-5,9-15,19-19,22,29-301-3.6-10,13-17,20-31 17-21,24-29,
Taupo
1-3,11,22,25-26,29-30 1-10,13-17,20-24,27-3115-26,29-31
Turangi1-5,9,11,19,22-30 1,6-10,14-31
1,4-7,10-26
Napier
4-5,23-24
2,6-11,13-17,20-24,27-314-8,10-14,19-21,24-30
Paraparaumu2-5,24-26,30
3,6-12,20-24
4-12,17-30
Greytown5,18,23-26,29-30 6-11,20-24,28-31 4-7,10-14,17-21,24-28
Wellington22-23,25,29-30
2-3,14,20-24,28,31 3-7,10-11,17-21,27-28
Nelson1,4,9,19-23,29-30 1,3,6-31
4-29
Hanmer
3,6-9,13
7-8,28-29
Christchurch 1-3,9,16-18,21,-22,24,301-5,7-24,27-31
4-29
Akaroa 4-5,9,26,29-30
1-11,13-18,20-24,27-314-6,8,10-15
Tekapo1-3,
10,13,16,20,28-31 4-7,10-14,18-21,26-29
Wanaka 19,24,29-30
2-10,12,15-17,20-24,304-16,20,25-29
Cromwell
28-30,
1-7,9-11,13-17,21-25,28-314-21,24-29
Queenstown 29-30
1-3,6-11,13-18,21-24,27-314-7,12-13,18-19,26-27
Te Anau
22-26,29-30
1-3,6-28,
4-30
Dunedin 2,10-12,19,
1-2,6,8-10,20-21,28-315-7,10-15,18-22,24-28
76
April 2012
Families Charitable Trust, which
benefits families of police officers
killed on duty. To buy More
Six Feet Down Under, or the
original Six Feet Down Under,
send a cheque for $25 to PO Box
21-650 Henderson, Auckland
0650, or, to pay through online
banking, contact Chris Mann at
[email protected].
Changes to Holiday
Homes Rules
The Board of Directors of the Police Welfare
Fund recently approved some changes to the
Holiday Homes rules.
1. Linen hire will be available for
international members only.
2. Multiple Unit Booking: Members can
book only one unit at a location at a
time. However, members can apply
for more than one unit in exceptional
circumstances and/or low-use periods.
3. Ballots: Members who are successful
in being allocated a ballot will have
it confirmed on payment of a nonrefundable deposit of one night’s
accommodation (currently $60).
Unfortunately, a trend is developing
for some members to win a ballot and
then hold on to it until just prior to the
booking period and then relinquish it.
Staff then have to try to allocate it at
short notice.
The new rules have immediate effect and
they will be attached to all Holiday Homes
Booking confirmations. The main purpose of
the rule changes is to assist all members with
access to their Holiday Homes. Full details are
available from the Member Services Centre
on 0800 500 122 or Police ext 44446, or
visit Holiday Accommodation on: www.
policeassn.org.nz.
Police Council of Sport
To contact the Police Council of Sport, call Sharon Gold at the RNZPC. Ph: (04) 238-3139 (Ext: 43139)
Top gun
On the piste: Thirty competitors took part in the annual Police Association Ski Championship last year, unfurling their
Association banner at the Porters ski field.
Ski champs at Porters
The annual Police Association
Ski Championships were held in
August last year at the Porters
ski area near Christchurch. Half
of the 30 entrants were from the
South Island and the crew stayed
at the Porters Ski Lodge. We had
blue skies for the entire week
and the snow-making facilities
at Porters made for great racing
conditions even though the snow
coverage was a little thin.
Tauranga’s Mark Farrell
dominated a strong open men’s
field in both the slalom and
giant slalom courses to take the
overall title ahead of the always
improving John Daunton in
second and Hamish Beer in third.
The open women’s field saw
very close racing with Lynne
Donaldson from Queenstown
edging out Kara Paterson by
less than a second in the slalom
and giant slalom to win the
overall trophy. The over-50s was
tightly contested, with Malcolm
Johnson’s body holding together
long enough to claim victory over
Neil Warren and the evergreen
Tony Bowen in third.
Jason Hunuki clocked the
fastest snowboarder time in the
challenging snow conditions to
take the overall win ahead of Gary
Learmonth and Kevin Stone, while
Lynne Donaldson showed her all
round ability in also winning the
women’s snowboard ahead of
Lisa Hogan and Jess Clarke.
Many thanks to the Police
Association and Council of
Sport for supporting the event,
which couldn’t be run without
their assistance. The organisers
would also like to thank the
sponsors and Nick Plant Movie
Productions, which put together
a great DVD covering the week
away.
This year, the champs will
be back in the North Island at
Whakapapa, August 27-29,
when it is hoped skier and
boarder cross events will also be
included in the racing.
– Scott Pitkethley
Memorial wall
Our sympathies to all our members’ families for
those who have passed away in recent months.
We remember…
SILK, Pamela Shirley
13-Mar-12
Spouse
New Plymouth
GOODALL, William Frank
13-Mar-12
Retired
Western Australia
ANTILL, Dulcie
14-Mar-12
Spouse
New Plymouth
Police firearms instructor Sheng
Wong was up to the mark once
again at the Australasian Police &
Emergency Services Games held
last month in Lower Hutt. The
marksman did so well in all the
events he entered that he won the
“Top Gun” award in the production
pistol category, using his Glock
17, 9mm firearm.
Sheng went home with seven
medals.
In the Australian service pistol
match, he won a gold medal
for first place overall production
class, a gold medal for beating
Australians in team event, a silver
medal for New Zealand Police
overall and a bronze for overall (all
types of pistols combined). For
IPSC (practical pistol shooting),
he won a gold medal overall in
the production class, and snared
another gold medal for beating the
Australians in the team event.
Calling all sailors
The Police Sailing Association
wants to make contact with Police
employees who are interested in
yachting.
The association is updating its
database and wants to hear from
anyone who is either keen to crew
on a yacht or who owns a yacht
and would be interested in taking
part in regattas.
The association, which is
based in Auckland, is the current
holder of the inter-services sailing
trophy.
The next regatta is scheduled
to take place on Friday, April 27, in
Auckland, with a prize giving at the
Richmond Yacht Club.
To be included in the
association database and to be
notified of other upcoming events,
contact Darrel Watt, secretary,
[email protected], or Ian
Clouston, commodore, richard.
[email protected].
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.
April 2012
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.
DVD interviewing techniques
Erebus documents
After reading “Interviewing Techniques”,
Letters to the Editor, January/February
2012, I feel some comment is necessary, on
behalf of my typist colleagues and myself,
on the standard of interviewing done
with DVD recordings, whether it be for
witnesses or victims, but mostly suspects.
When it comes to quality statements,
planning, preparation and engaging with
the interviewee are of prime importance;
however, from the perspective of the
transcriber, of far greater importance is the
ability to clearly hear what is being said.
From observations made while
transcribing numerous interviews, there
doesn’t seem to be enough thought given to
those of us assigned the task of transcribing
the conversation into a document that
accurately reflects the words spoken by
both or, in some cases, all present when an
interpreter or nominated person is involved.
• Here are a few examples that show how
challenging and tedious this task has
become:
• Interviewing officer tapping a pen on the
microphone (which becomes amplified
through the headset).
• Covering the microphone with papers
from the file.
• Suspect not sitting at the interview table
but sitting in another chair in a corner of
the room.
• Suspect turning head away to face the
wall.
• Suspect covering mouth with hand and
mumbling an inaudible reply.
• Interviewing officers who don’t set the
ground rules for the interview.
• Interviewing officers not allowing the
interviewee to answer questions before
asking another.
• Interviewing officers not giving spellings
of names and places, which leaves the
typist to resort to guesswork or spend
time trawling through files in the hope
of matching a name with a spelling.
Former Superintendent Bob Mitchell’s
explanation (Letters, Police News, March)
for pages being removed from the
ringbinder belonging to Captain Collins
leaves me a little perplexed.
This was a document that clearly had
considerable significance to this terrible
air crash. The notations were made by the
aircraft’s pilot in his own hand. Clearly,
the notes were legible when the binder was
found by Stuart Leighton.
Greg Gilpin also has said many times
that he looked at the pages and realised the
notes were evidentially important.
How come the pages were so quickly
deemed immaterial by the air accident
investigator who should know how
important the preservation of any evidence
is?
Police also have a duty to present all
relevant evidence to a court or commission
of inquiry. The claim that the pages were
saturated in jet fuel and melted body tissue
does not lessen that obligation. Many an
exhibit from a gruesome murder has been
shown in court regardless of the state of
it. The pages in the ringbinder could have
been presented in an inoffensive way.
Additionally, if the pages were so
terrible, why was the whole binder not
destroyed rather than giving the cover
alone to the captain’s family?
All of the police officers involved are
men of considerable integrity. Perhaps the
same cannot be said of everyone involved
in this sorry matter. I doubt the controversy
will go away.
On a positive note, some officers
are excellent and do all the right things.
Unfortunately they are in the minority and
the effort required by typists to produce a
quality transcript can involve much timewasting.
If a little more care and attention was
applied to speaking clearly and ensuring
the suspect was actually sitting at the
interview table next to the microphone, this
would make our job exponentially easier.
Gail Fitzgerald
AUCKLAND
78
April 2012
GERRY CUNNEEN
Wellington
Vital evidence
Captain Collins’ ringbinder notebook was
not soiled to the extent described by Bob
Mitchell (Letters, Police News March) at the
time it was found and transported from the
Erebus crash site in sealed plastic bags to
McMurdo.
The conflict over the condition and
relevance of the contents of the ringbinder
illustrates why it should have been retained
and left in the condition it was found.
This was a vital piece of evidence to the
commission of inquiry considering it
was known to be the document in which
the captain recorded flight data. Bob’s
description is at variance with paragraph
357 of the Mahon Royal Commission
Report, where it is recorded that when Bob
received the ringbinder at McMurdo he
“could remember that all the pages were
missing”.
The ringbinder should not have
been released to the airline prior to the
commission of inquiry. The explanation
of the airline official who eventually
acknowledged removing pages is highly
suspect, considering what Stu Leighton and
I observed in it. The official told the inquiry
that he “presumed” he had removed the
pages because they were damaged.
The ringbinder cover, which is held at
National Archives, Wellington, is in perfect
condition and still contains an instruction
paper for a previous flight by Captain
Collins which is clean and clearly legible.
This paper was in the ringbinder along
with the other pages when found. It is also
pertinent that passengers’ diaries found
on the site, also stained by aviation fuel
but readable, were returned to loved ones
without the pages being removed.
The body recovery operation on
Erebus through the efforts of all involved
was extremely successful and it is sad this
controversy still lingers. This specific issue
should have been addressed through the
inquiry and Police investigation at the
time. Unfortunately, for some inexplicable
reason, the Police investigation was told
that it was not possible to determine who
had found the ringbinder on Mt Erebus.
This is not so. A basic, simple inquiry
would have established this.
GREG GILPIN
Manakau, Horowhenua
Use of 0800 Ten Nine
phone line
Association representatives maintain
this telephone line (0800 836 6463) 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.
New Zealand Police Association
SURF PATROL KAIKOURA 2012
Couch surfing? Detective Senior Sergeant Grant Coward,
New Plymouth, and Senior Constable Lloyd Buckley,
Tauranga.
The eighth New Zealand Police Association Surf
Champs were hosted by Christchurch Police
and held in Kaikoura last month. About 50 hardy
souls made the journey south just after the
weather bomb that hit the country provided
ideal surfing conditions for the three-day event.
Christchurch Police forensic photographer
Charlotte Dyndul captured the action. A full
report and results of the event will appear in the
May edition of Police News.
Constable Geoff Pardoe, from Gisborne.
Youth Aid Officer Scott Pitkethley, Gisborne, with toes on the nose.
Men’s winner Constable Sam Johnson, Gisborne, looking down a
Kaikoura barrel.
Women’s winner Gina Samson, Gisborne.
Useful Information & Contacts
New Zealand Police Association:
For immediate industrial & legal advice
(on matters that cannot be deferred such as
Police shootings, fatal pursuits or deaths in
custody) ring 0800 TEN NINE
(0800 836 6463)
– 24 hour/seven days service
Police Network
44446
Freephone
0800 500 122
Police Health Plan/Police Fire and General Insurance Quotes & information
0800 500 122
or Fax
(04) 496 6819
Police Fire and General Insurance claims 0800 110 088
All enquiries
(04) 496 6800
Vice Presidents
Regional Directors
Stuart Mills Luke Shadbolt (027) 268 9416
(027) 268 9411
Field Officers
Auckland District:
Waitemata and Northland Districts:
Waikato, BOP and Eastern Districts:
Central and Wellington Districts:
Tasman and Canterbury Districts:
Southern District
Websitewww.policeassn.org.nz
Police Home Loans
0800 800 808
Police Credit Union 0800 429 000
or (04) 472 9645
Credit Union
www.policecu.org.nz
GSF information 0800 654 731
PSS information
0800 777 243
Stewart Mills
Steve Hawkins
Graeme McKay
JJ Taylor
Dave McKirdy
Dave Steel
(027) 268 9407
(027) 268 9406
(027) 268 9408
(027) 268 9409
(027) 268 9410
(027) 268 9427
Region One
Region Two
Region Three
Region Four
Region Five
Region Six
Region Seven
Jug Price
Dave Pizzini Wayne Aberhart
Emmet Lynch
Craig Tickelpenny
Craig Prior
Brett Roberts
Whangaparaoa
Counties-Manukau
Waikato
Napier
Wellington
Sydenham
Dunedin
(027) 268 9419
(027) 268 9413
(027) 268 9414
(027) 268 9415
(027) 268 9417
(027) 268 9412
(027) 268 9418
April 2012
79
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we provide a professional roadside assistance service – free-of-charge.
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A full description of services Police Welfare Fund Roadside Assist Plus provides is on the
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Insure your vehicle with ‘Full Cover’ Police Fire & General Insurance and you’re
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If you would like a quote for your Vehicle, Home, Contents or Pleasurecraft and
are a Police Welfare Fund member call 0800 500 122, or visit the insurances
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