IN DOG WE TRUST. A vision for the future MAY STAYING POWER Rosalie Sterritt reflects on her Police career

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1 MAY 2016 IN DOG WE TRUST A vision for the future SMALL STRIDES A little person in Police STAYING POWER Rosalie Sterritt reflects on her Police career PACIFIC BEAT Surviving cyclones and lax border security

2 2 CONTENTS 2 CONTENTS Police News is the magazine of the New Zealand Police Association, originally the New Zealand Police Journal, first published in May 2016 ISSN Published by the New Zealand Police Association P.O. Box 12344, 57 Willis St, Wellington 6144 Phone: (04) Fax: (04) Editor: Ellen Brook editor@policeassn.org.nz Website: Facebook: nzpoliceassociation Printed by City Print Communications, Wellington. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Association. 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. Those wishing not to receive a personal copy of Police News should contact the editor (editor@policeassn.org.nz) to be removed from the distribution list. CONTENTS News/Views 4. Small strides: Little person Hollie Howland is on a mission 5. Staking your claim: Members report pressure not to claim allowances 6. Breakthrough on PITT: The removal of responder levels for firearms training 6. Firearms updates: Daily seizures of illegal weapons continue 7. I Am Keen 8. Staying power: Rosalie Sterritt, a pioneer from the early days of women police officers 11. Celebrations: Official events scheduled to mark 75 years of women in Police 12. Pacific beat: Superintendent Don Allan talks about his Pacific Liaison Officer role 14. Cover story: The Police Dog Trust Notebook 16. Flashback: Police pay parades 17. Holiday Home etiquette: What not to do 17. Health Plan claims: Make sure we can read them 18. Most Wanted: Police-themed teddy bears; the Police national library 19. AGM calendar: Put it in your diary 21. Health and Wellbeing: Handbook for healthy cops Sport Sports Diary; women s softball, waka ama Regulars 17. Ask Your Aunty 20. Keen on Wine 20. Brain Teaser 24. Holiday Homes 25. Letters 27. Memorial Wall 27. Useful Information Cover: Inspector Todd Southall, the Police dog national co-ordinator and chairman of the Police Dog Trust, with police dog puppy Hype. See p14. Photo: HEATHER McDONALD Rosalie Sterritt on duty during the royal tour in 1953, p8

3 NEWS/VIEWS 3 THE BUZZ from the PRESIDENT I have written about gangs and organised crime a few times over the years. It s a bit of a bogeyman topic for the public and media; we know they are bad buggers and that we should be worried about them, but, in reality, unless people live in the end of town where the gangs thrive or someone they know has come into their sphere of intimidation, their only experience of gangs is what they see in the media. For their part, the outlaw motorcycle gangs, in particular, realise that public boilovers of violence are bad for business, and they ve have adapted to sort out their issues in private. They have also engaged in public relations, constantly reassuring the public they are just good old boys who like to have fight clubs and poker runs and give toys to the local hospital. Hollywood and the music industry have helped by glorifying the gangster culture, resulting in a generation who think gangs are cool. It s worked. Gangs are well entrenched, and their influence and intimidation are spreading beyond their traditional hunting grounds. The Head Hunters and Hell Angels are applying business models in new markets around the country and divvying up the spoils. Specifically, it involves moving in an advanced guard, identifying key local crime figures and groups, and training them. They are whisked off to Auckland, just like we send people to the Police College. I know this because a relative of an old contact of mine is going through the induction process now. These kids are growing up wanting to be gangsters. When police show off all the flash gear they seize after a gang bust, that unfortunately triggers aspirations for young people on the cusp, who think that they too could own a flash car if they join up. The bottom line is that we are losing ground to these gangs and I m not convinced that our current philosophy is designed to win back the high ground. It s mostly about the drug trade, as that s where the money comes from. From talking to troops around the country, I don t think anyone believes we are policing P with any consistent vigour. In many countries, it s incompetence and corruption that stop that happening, but we are neither of those things, so questions need to be asked as to why we have not been able to shrink the industry. Lack of political will? A hopeless task? Maybe it s time for a whole new look at how we disempower and disrupt these groups? Whatever the answer, it s got to involve hurtung their profit margins. And maybe we will need to look for Government policy to do that. The UN held a conference on the war on drugs recently, but many regard it as an opportunity lost. There is a rising belief internationally that the war is lost and that if we don t do something soon, we will lose even more ground to multinational gangs who already have better resourcing, arms and leverage than the authorities, and that is the case in New Zealand. We have some damned good people doing some damned fine work against organised crime here. Only when they start thinking we are winning can we think we are protecting the public. And I don t think they do. Perhaps it s time for a new approach to disrupting organised criminal gangs? president@policeassn.org.nz Thinking of all Police staff and families today. The job is getting more difficult and those in it are increasingly under-valued and under-resourced. The majority of us still stand behind you. Celeste Crawford, after the armed incident in Porirua in which police dog Gazza was killed and an officer was injured. (Facebook) Awful news today, Wellington police dog Gazza was shot and killed at a Porirua address this morning. Our thoughts are with his handler Josh and the Delta sections around the country at this very sad time. RIP Gazza, you were a top dog, and a pleasure to work with! TV One s Dog Squad NZ (Facebook) RIP Glenn. We were in the same wing at the Police College and both got posted to Hawke s Bay. Missing you mate. Doug Ritchie, on the 20th anniversary of the death of Constable Glenn McKibbin, shot and killed in Hastings on April 21, 1996, during a routine traffic stop. (Facebook) That s a good idea on the cold mornings, use a head warmer. Just remember to take the cat out before wearing. Sue Robertson, on Whangaparaoa police station cat Snickers who likes to sleep in a police hat. (Facebook) Michael On behalf of Canadian police colleagues, sincere thank you to Greg O Connor + for their strong+successful leadership On the ICPRA conference in Spain last month, where Police Association President Greg O Connor led his final conference as chairman before standing down. (Twitter) I don t expect them all to grow up and be cops but at least they have an understanding of the work we do and how we help people in the community. Auckland ethnic liaison officer Constable Rob Stanton, who has written and illustrated a 20-page crime-solving activity and colouring book, My Police Adventures, for primary school children. (stuff.co.nz/fairfax Media) NEW ZEALAND POLICE ASSOCIATION MAY 2016

4 4 NEWS/VIEWS SMALL STRIDES Police Association member Hollie Howland, a shift co-ordinator at the National Command and Co-ordination Centre in Wellington, is heading to Berlin later this year in her role as president of Little People of New Zealand (LPNZ). She will attend an International Dwarfism Leadership Summit, bringing back ideas to New Zealand to improve support and resources here. Hollie, 31, is the only little person, or dwarf, employed by Police in New Zealand. She s 4ft 2in (127cm) and is used to being one of a kind in the workplace, but at home she has husband Joe and their son, Jonty, who has just turned five, who are also little people. The whole family is going to the three-day summit. Hollie was born and raised in Christchurch, the only daughter of a dwarf dad and an average-height mum. She was a little person, but with big ambitions, including wanting to be a police officer. If the entry requirements were limited to enthusiasm, she d have made it, but physical challenges such as the PCT were, literally, a hurdle she couldn t overcome. She has found her niche, however, in the non-sworn side of policing, starting in South Comms 11 years ago, and then moving to Central Comms, where she became an acting team leader. In 2012, she moved to PNHQ as a crime group supervisor and since 2014, she has worked at the NCCC. Police has been a fantastic place for me, she says. I have been so lucky to have landed here and to be part of the police family. She recalls that when she started work at the old Christchurch Central Police Station, she found that, without her even asking, a separate set of lower locks had been installed on the women s toilet cubicle doors just for her. Apart from the great career options at Police, Hollie says, there are the superannuation benefits and the comprehensive health cover provided through the Police Welfare Fund. Medical care and support are important for Hollie and her family. Not only can dwarfism be challenging socially, it comes with particular health issues. For example: having a smaller jaw can result in severely impacted wisdom teeth; ear, nose and throat problems are common; orthopaedic procedures are often needed; and there is ongoing need for X-rays and MRI scans. Hollie, Joe and Jonty have the most common form of dwarfism, achondroplasia, but Hollie and Joe also have spinal stenosis, a painful condition caused by nerves becoming trapped in a narrowing spinal cord, which can potentially be eased with surgery. Dwarfism is a genetic condition and one in 10,000 children are born with it. Hollie says Jonty is just starting to become aware of his differences. She and Joe will be helping him build the resilience he will need in the years ahead. Even with great support from her family, especially her dad, who at 71 is the oldest recorded little person in New Zealand, Hollie says her teenage years were tough, dealing with feelings of loneliness and insensitivity from others. She was lucky to have already known Joe and they started dating as teens, providing invaluable support for each other. Unfortunately, there is a high suicide rate among dwarf teens. As president of LPNZ, part of Hollie s manifesto is to tackle that and to give back to the organisation that helped her so much. She has been a member of LPNZ, which started 47 years ago, all her life. The biggest thing we have to cope with is people s perceptions. One of the most helpful things for our members is being able to connect people who have shared experiences, she says. She has instituted a buddy system and leadership programmes, promoted through LPNZ, in an effort to make contact with little people who may be suffering in some way, whether a struggling teenager or a new mum with a dwarf baby. There are also some added expenses to being small. It s hard to get clothes, especially fashionable ones you have to get everything altered and to drive you need to get specially adapted pedals, which aren t cheap. Recently, Hollie met a female little person who had also wanted to become a police officer. She realised that it was actually impossible, because of the physical requirements, but I showed her the flipside of a career in Police. I took her to have a look at Comms, introduced her to a police photographer and showed her around the Police College. Now she is studying criminology. Little People of New Zealand is fundraising to send Hollie to the summit in Berlin. If you would like to contribute to that, the LPNZ bank account is ASB. Hollie Howland is the only little person employed by New Zealand Police. I have been so lucky to have landed here and to be part of the police family. MAY 2016 POLICE NEWS THE VOICE OF POLICE

5 NEWS/VIEWS 5 STAKING YOUR CLAIM Thirty per cent of our members have told us they have felt pressure not to claim for allowances they are entitled to at work. And, of those, almost half ultimately decided against making claims, which means people are missing out on rightful payments. The figures were revealed in last year s Police Association member survey. Although the number of staff who reported feeling pressure not to claim has fallen by 10 per cent since 2013, it is still a worry that three in every 10 members are reluctant to make claims. The areas where most pressure not to claim was felt were for time off in lieu (57%), travelling and meal allowances (49%) and higher duties (24%). The survey also showed that reimbursement for private vehicle use was the least likely claim to be made. The Association s industrial staff have noticed that the number of members querying their entitlements has increased and that appears to be linked to pressure on district budgets. Two of the most disputed allowances are higher duties and mileage. So, where do members stand? The collective employment agreement (CEA) specifies what the minimum entitlements for allowances are. This means that Police cannot legally offer members any less than what is in the CEA, even if a member has signed a document agreeing to a lesser entitlement. Here are a couple of typical examples: CASE 1 A sergeant has been offered a development opportunity to relieve as a senior sergeant. The sergeant has been advised that because this is a development opportunity, no allowances can be claimed, including the higher duties allowance (HDA). The sergeant is concerned that if she questions her entitlement to claim an allowance, the development opportunity will be revoked, so she agrees in writing to the terms specified by Police. This is contrary to the CEA and the member is entitled to claim the HDA allowance. Taking on a development opportunity does not negate a member s entitlement under the CEA. If cases such as this are brought to the Association s attention, we can enforce the CEA. In most instances, Police require members to submit claims for allowances; however, some districts are more pro-active than others and will load an allowance to be paid automatically, especially where longer-term relieving is being done. 30% 3 in every 10 members indicate they have have felt pressured not to make a claim CASE 2 A constable is successful in applying to be part of an expression of interest (EOI) process that involves a three-month placement in a position at another station. It is at the same band, but requires additional travel. The constable is told that mileage and travel time allowances don t apply because he requested to be part of the EOI process. This is contrary to the CEA and the member is entitled to be paid additional mileage and any other applicable allowances. The fact that a member applies for a position does not negate their entitlement under the CEA. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the payment of allowances, contact your local field officer or an Association representative. You can find their contact details on My Profile after logging into Felt pressure to not claim Did they proceed with the claim? 2015 Yes Net Time off in lieu 57% Higher duties allowances (356) 50% 14% 19% 17% 36% Travelling and meal allowances Higher duties allowances Standby 24% 14% 49% Time off in lieu (849) Travelling and meal allowances (713) Transfer expenses (26) 53% 59% 48% 11% 19% 17% 7% 14% 20% 17% 19% 16% 36% 35% 35% Yes received all the entitlement(s) or allowance(s) Yes received some but not all Use of private vehicle reimbursement Transfer expenses 11% 2% Standby (207) Use of private vehicle reimbursement (173) 54% 66% 17% 13% 17% 15% 10% 9% 29% 18% No did not receive any entitlement(s) or allowance(s) No did not end up making the claim Other 15% Other (223) 46% 22% 11% 21% 32% NEW ZEALAND POLICE ASSOCIATION MAY 2016

6 6 NEWS/VIEWS IN IN BRIEF BRIEF BRAVERY AWARD 2016 Nominations for the 2016 Police Association Bravery Award open on June 1 and close on July 31. The award, introduced by the Association in 2010, recognises outstanding acts of bravery by members. Both constabulary and non-constabulary members are eligible for nomination for acts of bravery in the year from July 2015 to June The awards are presented at the Annual Conference in October. Nomination forms and criteria can be downloaded from the Association website, www. policeassn.org.nz. You must be logged in as a member to access the forms. NEW LEAVE LIMIT Accumulation of leave: There s a change in the Constabulary and Police employee Collective Employment Agreement (CEA) on how much leave members can accumulate. Previously, it was up to 18 months (66 days). The new limit is 50 days, which members can accumulate without approval from Police. This leave can be a combination of annual leave, statutory holidays, Commissioner s holidays, shift workers leave, TOIL, DDOs and, for constabulary employees, PCT leave. Long service leave is not included. Transitional arrangements: Because there are members who currently have more than 50 days leave, transitional arrangements are available which give members until June 30, 2016, to reduce their leave entitlement to 50 days. No member will forfeit any leave if this cannot be achieved. After June 30, a member s leave entitlement will be looked at annually on their leave anniversary date. If it is more than 50 days, Police will expect a member to have a leave plan to reduce their leave entitlement. For a more detailed explanation of leave, please see our website. POLICE TO SCRAP PITT RESPONDER LEVELS Police has finally decided to do away with split responder levels for access to firearms and tactical training, a move that will come as a relief to staff who have found the model impractical for frontline police work. Police Commissioner Mike Bush has said that under a revised Police Integrated Tactical Training (PITT) model, the vast majority of constabulary staff will now be trained and equipped to the same level. Staff access to firearms and Tasers and tactical training will be reviewed with a view to creating a single responder model to replace the threetier system. Police Association President Greg O Connor welcomed the announcement, giving Police credit for the decision and listening to the concerns of members, which reflected the reality of modern-day policing and staff safety. It was right that Police had finally addressed the ludicrous situation of the split responder levels before a tragedy occurred, he said. The current PITT model, introduced in 2013, which spilt staff into three responder levels, only one of which receives full firearms access and training, has generated many complaints and concerns from members. It replaced Staff Safety Tactical Training, reconfiguring the training hours and reducing the number of staff who received full tactical training. The result has been that only those classified as Level 1 responders have had the full range of tactical options at their disposal a scenario that has not worked well in practice. Those classified as Level 2 responders (Taser and limited access to firearms) and Level 3 (no access to either) have been finding themselves called on to attend Level 1 jobs or jobs that could escalate and feeling severely underequipped. On behalf of members, the Association has been lobbying Police to review PITT. Mr Bush acknowledged the input of staff, district commanders and service organisations in considering the need for change. The executive s focus may also have been sharpened by the introduction of new health and safety legislation. Mr Bush said the decision was part of the executive s ongoing commitment to ensuring staff and public safety. Now that a review has been promised, the Association believes there is potential for significant and timely policy changes at Police. Mr Bush said there would be flow-on effects for our training (including delivery and frequency), our deployment model, resourcing of stations and frontline vehicles and ensuring that staff have immediate access to the range of tactical options they need to do their job. FIREARMS SEIZURES CONTINUE As the Police Association prepares submissions for the Law and Order select committee inquiry into the proliferation of illegal firearms in New Zealand, it continues to get daily reports from members on such weapons. At the time of going to print, the Association was receiving reports of up to four illegal firearms seizures each day. The select committee has asked the Association to share the information it has been receiving from frontline members. It is apparent from the reports that, as suspected, criminals now have free and easy access to firearms. In one incident, a man with gang connections allegedly walked into a court building with a loaded pistol concealed in his trousers, later reportedly telling police, Everybody s carrying. Last month over one 12-day period, 34 firearms seizures were reported to the Association. Of 15 incidents, we know that one involved shots fired, three involved drugs (meth and cannabis), three involved offenders with known gang links, two involved a loaded firearm and three involved unsecured weapons. The New Zealand Herald published a report last month on how a patched gang member was able to legally buy 17 firearms from one dealer, which eventually came to police attention, but they have since been unable to locate the weapons. The man bought the guns, including high-powered semi-automatic rifles, with a value of about $30,000, between 2012 and The fact that a patched gang member was able to legally buy such weapons is of great concern. It highlights the need for an inquiry, and is one of the cases that the committee will be considering. The Association still wants to hear from members involved in firearms incidents in the course of their work. assaults@ policeassn.org.nz MAY 2016 POLICE NEWS THE VOICE OF POLICE

7 NEWS/VIEWS 7 This column is written by a frontline police officer. It does not represent the views or policies of the Police Association. Déjà vu in Porirua I have a sense of deja vu. It seems like only last month I was writing about an armed standoff... Oh wait, I was. This time it was our colleagues in Porirua who found themselves dealing with an armed offender who had just shot and killed police dog Gazza. The media immediately labelled it a siege situation and the nation took to Facebook to mourn the loss of Gazza and wish the officer injured in the incident a speedy recovery. It was a reminder that at times like this that the vast majority of the public are supportive of us. It s a shame that it takes incidents like this for us to realise that. We re always in the spotlight and everything we do gets analysed and picked apart by the armchair warriors of social media, fuelled by the mainstream media. This incident was well managed, ensuring that members of that community, as well as other attending staff, were kept safe. There has been little to no criticism of our work this time around, which is a rarity. A routine job is anything but, and that has certainly been highlighted here again. Photo: DOG SQUAD NZ To the injured officer, I wish you a full and speedy recovery. To the dog handler, I cannot imagine the sense of loss you are feeling; your colleagues are thinking of you at this time. I m proud of the work we do and I m impressed with the everyday courage and bravery shown by you all. Now might also be a good time to throw in a plug for the National Dog Training Centre and the Police Dog Trust. If you weren t aware of the trust already, you can help it grow and nurture our future police dogs. They are always on the lookout for foster homes and you don t have to be an aspiring dog handler to take on one of these mini land sharks. It s an incredibly rewarding experience amazing to see what was once a tiny ball of fluff become an absolute maneating missile. Gazza was one of the trust s great achievements. He was a star and is even due to feature in TV s Dog Squad show. He deserves full honours after serving the people of Wellington with distinction and bravery; all for the promise of food and a belly rub from his handler. I m told that his legacy could live on in the breeding programme. Let s hope that his drive and tenacity endures in his puppies and we see some mini crime-fighting Gazzas in the near future. Stand down, Gazza, your duty is done. We have the watch from here. To find out more about the Police Dog Trust, see p14 Take care out there Constable Iam Keen To update Iam Keen with information, contact him at iamkeen@policeassn.org.nz Monday, May 16 - Sunday, May 22, 2016 SPECIAL MEMBER DISCOUNT SHOPPING EVENT Members, take advantage of this special Police Association member discount shopping event: Cost +5% to Cost +7% on most items purchased in store. See the flyer on our website for the terms and conditions. And don t miss this hot offer: Phillips Air Fryer at a special price of $ 252Incl GST TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE DISCOUNTS you will need to take to the store: A copy of the relevant discount flyer this can be downloaded from the 'Member Discounts' section of the Association website. Your NZPA Membership Card (NOT Police ID). Happy Shopping! For terms and conditions and further details see the 'Member Discounts' section of our website under the Products & Services menu: You will need to log in to view the discount details. NEW ZEALAND POLICE ASSOCIATION MAY 2016

8 8 NEWS/VIEWS STAYING POWER Senior Constable Rosalie Sterritt witnessed many changes for women in Police during her career from 1948 to 1985 from the struggles for acceptance to, finally, equal pay and opportunities, but she s still waiting for one milestone, she tells Ellen Brook. There will be a woman Commissioner one day. It will happen, says one of our first women police officers, Rosalie Sterritt. But thank goodness she hasn t been holding her breath waiting for it. Rosalie is 91. She joined Police in 1948, in the fourth intake of women police, and has never been under any illusion about the difficulties of choosing that career. Right from the start, she says, it was quite obvious that the men didn t want us there. The main problem was they didn t really know what to do with us. Some thought we were glorified matrons. We manually recorded files and did telephone switchboard duties. When we were deployed, we didn t have a uniform, but we had to wear hats some of us wore berets even though it wasn t the style at the time, and we stuck out like a sore toe! The first women police officers had to quietly battle for acceptance. There were no equal opportunities. The belief was that policewomen were not really capable. That attitude didn t deter Rosalie, however. As a young woman in Kaikoura, she had never intended a career with Police, even though her father was the senior of two local police officers there. She was working in the office at the Kaikoura Hospital in 1948 when the junior constable persuaded her to put her name down as an applicant for Police. He said, You probably won t be called up for years! But, after visiting Christchurch for a medical examination, she received word within the month that she was to report to Wellington to be trained as one of 16 women police (the first group of eight had been trained in 1941). The three-month training was held at Police National Headquarters in Wellington (male recruits were trained at the Police Training School with barracks in Wellington). In those days, unless there were exceptional circumstances, recruits were not posted back to their home towns. Rosalie, then 23 years old, was sent to Auckland with five other women. They were temporary constables for one year before being permanently appointed. Rosalie notes that there was never any mention of those early policewomen in the Police Gazette. That didn t happen until they went into uniform in 1952, which seemed to coincide with preparations for the impending royal visit in Being in Auckland suited Rosalie. It was the best place to gain wide policing experience, although, as she noted in an essay she wrote in 1975 for the British Police and Commonwealth Essay competition (in which she was placed fourth), some of the duties irritated us, for we had joined to be policewomen, not clerks. She was talking about some of the more mundane tasks such as dealing with office records and telephone switchboards. Even when they did get out the office, women police weren t permitted to drive they had to take a tram or a bus. Rosalie Sterritt, pictured top in her workshop at home in Christchurch, and above, during her time as a long-serving officer with New Zealand Police. If I had got married, I would have had to exit Police. That was the rule, and the destiny of most of the other women with whom she had entered Police. MAY 2016 POLICE NEWS THE VOICE OF POLICE

9 NEWS/VIEWS 9 Among their duties were catching illegal Sunday traders. It involved going out with a male constable and buying groceries or cigarettes from dairies. It was a job we detested, Rosalie recalls. Even if the male constable was junior to us in service, he was always the senior officer. Other duties included making venereal disease inquiries for the Health Department and raids on opium dens often the two went hand in hand. The sergeant made us sniff burning opium, and one never forgot the aroma. It wasn t till the women officers went into uniform that the public really saw policewomen for the first time, says Rosalie. Duties started to become more varied and, she says, people were able to see that policewomen were not the big, stern and officious females that some had been led to believe. Rosalie admits she was a bit of a country bumpkin when she joined Police. Even though her father was a police officer, he had never discussed the seamy side of life with her. When I encountered some jobs, such as doing a ship raid to bring off women prostitutes, who were often arrested as idle and disorderly persons, I was indeed seeing the other side of life with a vengeance! she wrote in her essay. There was no PCT (physical competency test) in those days, although, as Rosalie says, they all had good general fitness. In 1950, when she was searching for a missing mental patient on Auckland s One Tree Hill, she injured her spine. She had grabbed a tree branch to climb higher and the branch gave way and she fell. She realised she had hurt her back, but, as she was going on leave the next day and travelling home to Kaikoura, she didn t wait to see the Police surgeon, instead seeing the local doctor when she got home. She had suffered a serious injury that would affect the course of her career. She ended up in body plaster twice and was granted a transfer to Christchurch. In 1957, she had spinal surgery, which involved a large bone graft, and a long recovery of more than a year, including wearing a neck brace for several months as a complication of the original injury. When she returned to work, she wasn t able to do full duties and was allocated to office work and other sedentary tasks. Then, after enduring all that physical hardship and a long recovery, Rosalie ended up at the sharp end of Police bureaucracy. In 1959, there was a push to board her out as medically unfit. Rosalie on duty and finally in uniform during the 1953 royal visit to New Zealand. Some of the duties irritated us, for we had joined to be policewomen, not clerks. Rosalie found herself in the daunting position of taking on the Commissioner to save her job. I realised that if I did not fight, other police members who had been injured on duty, and who were on sedentary, or office, duties and were doing good work, could also be threatened. She pursued Supreme Court action knowing that I may not be able to save my job, but I had to try to save others married men with children who could also lose their jobs. Rosalie won her case, and she kept her job. The decision was successfully appealed by the Commissioner, but no further action was taken against Rosalie or any other police officers who may have been at risk of losing their jobs. Eventually, she became an inquiry officer and then an inquest officer. It was work she found rewarding. A superintendent once asked me if I found my job depressing, to which I replied, No sir, it gives me a chance to help next of kin when they need help in a time of distress. Rosalie s practical skills also came to the fore. I found that there were no health safeguards for police staff dealing with bodies. I made up a hygiene kit in a case and made sure that staff dealing with bodies had the right equipment to take with them on jobs. Rosalie became a senior constable in She received Police Long Service medals and bars for 21, 28 and 35 years service. She did not sit examinations for promotion as she believed she would not pass the fitness test, however, she had always done well in her training exams and refresher course exams before going into uniform. Her longevity in Police was down to her dedication for the job and, in the early days, one other significant factor she didn t marry. If I had got married, I would have had to exit Police. That was the rule, and the destiny of most of the other women with whom she had entered Police. It was a different world, Rosalie notes. Even when a man wanted to get married, he had to get permission and his prospective wife would be investigated to see if she was suitable to be a policeman s wife. During her police service, one of her extra duties was to give talks to various women s groups. At one meeting, she was asked what educational degrees she had. Rosalie responded: Basic common sense, and there are no degrees for that! Continued p11 NEW ZEALAND POLICE ASSOCIATION MAY 2016

10 POLICE HOME LOAN PACKAGE NEWS Building getting the home you ve always wanted So, you re considering a build for your first or next home exciting! Although building projects may be challenging at times, when the job s done, having a home that s exactly what you wanted will make it worthwhile. Read on for some tips to help make things run smoothly. Before you begin What is it that you want in a home? It s key to know this, so you can research accordingly. From a practical perspective, think about the lifestyle you want to lead in your new home, now and in the future. For example, do you need room for vehicles, children and guests? Or do you want to build a home that s eco-friendly and includes sustainable energy sources? From an aesthetic perspective, what does your dream home look like? It s good to collect ideas from magazines, trade shows, open homes and show homes so you can piece together a picture. Building options There are different options available, all which have pros and cons. Group housing companies (turn-key) You can choose from a range of standard house designs, which is an affordable way to build as many decisions are pre-determined for you (including cost and time to complete) Your house will be fully completed when you move in A small deposit is paid upfront and one final payment is paid at completion. Design and build companies (fixed-priced contract) This is when the company can co-ordinate the entire building process from start to finish, including drawing up plans, arranging building consents and sourcing material and labour They offer a fixed-price contract, which means the price of building your home will stay the same even if labour and material costs increase during construction You can buy the land independently or with the assistance of the housing company Deposit is paid upfront with regular progress payments made throughout the build. Custom design (self-managed build) Custom design means designing your home from scratch, giving you greater scope for incorporating your personal style You would engage the architect and builder to design and build the home you want There may be variable building costs, so you ll need a flexible budget, with a contingency built in for the possibility of additional costs. Talk to ANZ to get the ball rolling Setting up a building budget is one of the most important steps in the building process, and should be done early on. So, before you engage a builder or building company, talk an ANZ Home Loan expert and establish how much you can afford to spend on building your home, and how ANZ Build Ready can help you achieve your goals. If you re a Police Welfare Fund member, you can also take advantage of discounts on home loan interest rates, and other benefits, through the Police Home Loan Package. To find out more or to register for the Police Home Loan Package, contact ANZ s dedicated team on or pop into your nearest branch. This material is for information purposes only. Its content is intended to be of a general nature, does not take into account your financial situation or goals, and is not a personalised financial adviser service under the Financial Advisers Act It is recommended you seek advice from a financial adviser which takes into account your individual circumstances before you acquire a financial product. If you would like to speak to an ANZ Authorised Financial Adviser, please call ANZ Lending criteria terms, conditions and fees apply. Special offer Six months free home insurance Buying a new home or refinancing can be an expensive process. We aim to make it easier on Police Welfare Fund members pockets. Draw down a new Police Home Loan and 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 You will need a copy of your loan document from ANZ. For more information or to apply for the Police Home Loan Package visit *Police Fire & General Insurance will be subject to the standard underwriting terms and conditions and is provided through the Police Welfare Fund not by 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. MAY 2016 POLICE NEWS THE VOICE OF POLICE

11 NEWS/VIEWS 11 Women in Police 75 TH CELEBRATIONS In June, New Zealand Police will celebrate 75 years of women in the service, marking the June 1941 intake of the first 10 women in Police and honouring the achievements and contributions of those who came after. Police Minister Judith Collins and the Commissioner will launch the anniversary activities in Auckland on June 3, 75 years to the day since the first recruits began their training in Wellington, as part of the Auckland District Awards and Medals ceremony. On June 24, a relay will start simultaneously from the top of the North Island (Cape Reinga) and the bottom of the South Island (Bluff), with each leg ending in Wellington on August 1, when a parade will march from Civic Square to Parliament. During the relay, a specially designed torch will be handed over between districts, one representing the South Island and one representing the North Island. Relay dates for each district are: North Island Northland June Waitemata June 28-July 1 Auckland City July 2-5 Counties Manukau July 6-9 Waikato July Bay of Plenty July THE PARADE A National Parade in Wellington from Civic Square to Parliament, featuring pipe bands and old police vehicles, will include constabulary and Police employees and retired staff. Each district will be invited to send representatives to take part. Eastern July Central July Wellington July 27-Aug 1 South Island Southern June 24-July 8 Canterbury July 9-20 Tasman July REUNION Retired Police staff are planning a reunion for the weekend before the Wellington parade (July 30-31). Details are still being organised, but if you are interested in attending, Maggie Christian myskibereen@ gmail.com or ph From p9 Even during the 65th anniversary of women in Police, in 2006, when Rosalie spoke to female recruits at the Police College, she says: I could tell by their expressions that they found it hard to believe what I was saying about the early days. It wasn t until the 60s, she says, that real change happened for women in Police. Women officers were not only sitting examinations for promotions, but were passing the same papers as set for men. Men and women began training together at the college and women were reaching the rank of detective. In 1965, women police officers were granted equal pay with their male counterparts. At last, we were to be accepted as an integral part of the New Zealand Police. It s all taken for granted now. But, of course, a woman is still a woman, no matter how fit she is. The real problem for women in Police continues to be that they get married and have families. The enthusiasm to sit exams for promotion is diminished or they resign. There is no easy answer in retaining sworn experienced women in the force. She still believes that the assurance she heard as a young officer It is said that everyone who joins the police has the chance to carry the Commissioner s baton will hold true and that New Zealand will one day have a woman Commissioner of Police. RETIREMENT Rosalie retired from Police in 1985 at the age of 60 after serving nearly 37 years as a police officer. She laughingly calls herself a dinosaur, and says she is the oldest retiree at the regular police luncheons she attends. My dad couldn t understand modern policing when I was in the Police all the changes and the new technology and it s a bit the same for me. I m obsolete now things have changed so much. Rosalie prepared well for her retirement, however, which has been long and successful, by making sure she had plenty of interests outside of Police, including scouting, music and woodworking. She has received recognition from several community and charity organisations and was awarded the Queen s Service Medal for community service in She lives independently and has both active and passive interests, including her own workshop where she makes and repairs items in wood and metal. When she s not busy at home in Christchurch, she enjoys regular trips away with friends in her self-contained campervan. My motto is I do everything I can until I can t. Boredom, she says, will not be on her death certificate. Hat-trick: Rosalie has seen many styles of policewomen s hats come and go. NEW ZEALAND POLICE ASSOCIATION MAY 2016

12 12 NEWS/VIEWS PACIFIC BEAT The Police Pacific Liaison Officer role returned to Suva last year, six years after heightened tensions in Fiji forced it to be moved to Apia in Samoa in Two years ago, Superintendent Don Allan (pictured) took over the job that involves assisting with policing in 14 countries spread over a huge area of the Pacific Ocean. Describe your job and how it benefits New Zealand and the Pacific? I cover 14 countries Papua New Guinea to the west, French Polynesia to the east and the 12 South Pacific countries in between. The bulk of my time is spent on crime prevention forming relationships and partnerships with law enforcement in the other Pacific Island countries, assessing their crime situation and their capacity to deal with it, including transnational crimes that affect New Zealand and New Zealanders. Recently, I was involved on the margins of the seizure of more than 700 kilograms of cocaine in French Polynesia destined for the Australian and New Zealand market. At least once a week, I facilitate investigations between Pacific Island countries and New Zealand, and vice versa. Many inquiries involve getting police in the Pacific Islands to track down offenders, victims or witnesses of crimes that happened in New Zealand or to New Zealanders. My work is about building trust. I have worked in the region for most of the past 15 years and I ve found that being able to pass on some policing knowledge enables local police to help themselves, which is what we are aiming for. Measuring progress is, unfortunately, difficult and it can take a long time. Essentially, my work is with people; the same as in New Zealand. I try to understand why people behave as they do and then work out ways to work with them. I ve learnt that it is a waste of time trying to introduce changes unless that is what people want. You were in Fiji when Cyclone Winston struck. Tell us about that. I was in Suva, in the southeast of Viti Levu island, which, fortunately, escaped the full force of the cyclone and for me, being from Wellington, it was much like being in a full-on Wellington southerly minus the cold wind. The northeastern Fiji islands and northern Viti Levu were the most affected. I travelled around Viti Levu three days later and saw most of the badly damaged areas. The New Zealand Defence Adviser, who is normally based in Suva, was out of Fiji at the time so I took over that role, acting on behalf of the New Zealand Defence Force and the New Zealand High Commission. I was directly involved in coordinating tasking for the New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion, which was the first overseas responder, and the Fijian Government. Communication across the 300-plus Fiji islands had been cut and the government had very little information. The P3 was able to supply aerial pictures of the damage, which helped the government set up its relief response. It was very rewarding seeing first-hand how the P3 was shaping the domestic and international relief effort. What are the day-to-day challenges of your job? The Pacific Islands are used as transit countries for hard illicit drugs and a key challenge is border security, which, in most Pacific Island countries is either weak or virtually non-existent. Washington DC, United States Detective Inspector Neil Hallett Recently, I was involved on the margins of the seizure of more than 700 kilograms of cocaine in French Polynesia destined for the Australian and New Zealand market. MAY 2016 POLICE NEWS THE VOICE OF POLICE

13 NEWS/VIEWS 13 There is limited ability to detect and police crime at the borders, which means that hard evidence on the extent of illicit drug shipments, or any other transnational crime, is either absent or not reliable enough to establish the real extent of the problem. Pacific Island countries have the same domestic crimes as New Zealand, but roadrelated crime, particularly crashes, is generally higher. Domestic and violent crimes are common and alcohol abuse is the same as in New Zealand. In general, there is also a lack of credible recording of crime and road crashes on most of the islands. W hat were your previous roles in Police? I qualified as a detective in 1984 and have spent most of my career as a detective in different roles. Before taking this job, I was the executive director of the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police Secretariat, which followed four years of working in Hawaii as the New Zealand Police liaison officer attached to the United States lead Transnational Crime Taskforce, which covered 42 Asia-Pacific countries. Before that, I was director of Police Criminal Intelligence at New Zealand Police National Headquarters. Being based in Hawaii for four years and covering the Pacific and Asian countries was awesome. While in Hawaii, I travelled almost one million air kilometres, the bulk of which was funded by the US Government. It was an absolutely unique four years where I worked with the US military, plus the FBI, the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) and ICE (Immigrant and Customs Enforcement) preventing transnational crime. A re your family with you in Fiji? I am here with my wife, Annette. Our two grown-up daughters live in New Zealand. IN BRIEF T here have been reports that the military grip on Fiji is tightening, particularly with the appointment of two military men to head police and corrections. Will that affect your work and what's your view on how Fiji is evolving at the government level? While you cannot escape politics, to carry out my role, it pays to have an open mind and to get to know the environment you work in. I adapt and work with whoever I need to to do my job. It certainly makes life interesting. IPA CONFERENCE H The International Police Association is holding its 61st World Congress and Friendship Week in Auckland. Organisers are expecting up to 220 serving and retired police officers from 65 countries to attend the conference (October 4-9) and about 400 to take part in Friendship Week (October 9-16), during which visitors will get to see more of New Zealand. For more information on registration and cost, Paul Visser, national president of the New Zealand section of the IPA, at president@ipa.org.nz, or visit the IPA website, ipa.org.nz. D MSM FOR MEMBERS ow do you spend your time off work? As you can gather, my role is not nine-tofive, Monday to Friday. Working to a routine is a challenge. I like to play golf whenever I can, and I now walk marathons as I cannot seem to get running shoes that are fast enough! I enjoy tramping and seeing and experiencing as much as I can of the countries I live in or visit. o you expect the police liaison role to change? Not really. Preventing crime is the way to go. However, to effectively cover 14 countries with one liaison officer is a challenge, so I can see value in that being split in the future, with maybe two liaison officers covering the area. NEW ZEALAND POLICE LIAISON OFFICERS POSTINGS AROUND THE WORLD London, England Superintendent Barry Taylor Beijing, China Superintendent Hamish McCardle Guangzhou, China Sergeant Bruce Howard Bangkok, Thailand Superintendent Gary Knowles Singapore Detective Snr Sergeant Steve Honiss (attached to Interpol Global Centre for Innovation) Jakarta, Indonesia Detective Inspector Greg Cramer and Detective Sergeant Tim Haughey (attached to Immigration NZ) Canberra, Australia Detective Inspector Steve Wood Suva, Fiji Superintendent Don Allan Sydney, Australia Detective Inspector Bruce Shadbolt Two Police Association members have been honoured for exceptional service and commitment to Police in law enforcement, border security and forensics. Commissioner Mike Bush presented Meritorious Service Medals (MSM) to Senior Constable Errol Van de Ven, an investigator and analyst with the Upper North Investigation Support Unit, and Inspector John Walker, Wnational manager of Forensic Services, based at Police National Headquarters. The medals are the highest award that can be made by the Commissioner. Senior Constable Van de Ven is a senior investigator at Auckland Airport. His knowledge of airport processes and passenger movements assists with serious drug investigations and other security operations. Inspector Walker has headed the national Forensic Services team since He is recognised in New Zealand and overseas for his technical expertise and achievements in: career development and qualifications for photographers and crime scene examiners; modernising tools, techniques and databases for police forensics specialists; reviewing the upgraded Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS); and managing forensic services relationships with ESR. NEW ZEALAND POLICE ASSOCIATION MAY 2016

14 14 COVER STORY IN DOG WE TRUST Last month, Police lost one of its four-legged own when police dog Gazza was killed in the line of duty during an incident in Porirua when an officer was also injured. When police dogs are injured or killed, the whole country responds. The loss is felt deeply, not only by the dog section, but also the Police Dog Trust, which helps fund the breeding and training of our heroic police dogs. Heather McDonald reports on the trust s vision for the future. When police dog Gage was killed on duty in Christchurch in 2010, there was an outpouring of public support. Police were inundated with people asking where they could donate money. The Christchurch Press newspaper ran a campaign to encourage donations to the little-known Police Dog Trust and raised $17,000. The death of Gage helped highlight the work of the trust, which at that time had a surprisingly low profile. When we lose a police dog, it has a very high public profile and the natural response from the public is What can we do to help? says trust chairman Inspector Todd Southall, National Co-ordinator: Police Dogs. They try to send in dog food, but often it is something we can t use. So what we say is, if you want to donate, donate to the trust. The charitable trust was set up in 2005 with an $180,000 bequest from the late Shirley Ellwood who had worked for Rotorua Police and loved the dog section. Her niece, Christine Oliver, is one of five trustees. Shirley s wishes were that the funds be used for the acquisition of dogs, training of dogs and handlers, improving police dog bloodlines and promoting study, research and educational programmes. Since Todd became chairman of the trust a year ago, he has been on a mission to improve the funding base and boost the breeding programme. When he started, he says, the trust did little to promote itself, so he resolved to make it more proactive, while still ensuring that Shirley s wishes are attended to and that the dog section gets full benefit out of the trust. Since the trust s inception, we ve had handlers travel all over the world, to the States, UK and Australia. We ve imported dogs from the Netherlands, England and Australia to improve our genetic bloodlines. We ve had our breeding services manager attend a working dog breeding conference in France. That s all been funded by the trust, Todd says. The next step, in terms of visibility, has been creating an online presence with a new website and Facebook page. The policedogtrust.co.nz website also enables donations through an online payment system. Popular products, such as the police dog soft toy given to Prince George when he visited the Police College in 2014, can be bought through the site and branded clothing is in the pipeline. All profits go directly to the trust. Understandably, photos of puppies on Facebook generate good publicity. We re also mindful that if anything happens in the police dog section we can put updates on there as well. It s also about keeping the public informed on the police dog section as a whole. After the death of police dog Gazza last month, shot during a stand-off with an armed offender in Porirua, the trust used its Facebook page to provide information and as a forum for public reaction to the incident. Police photographers across the country are working on the trust s latest project a 2017 police dog calendar hoping that their photos will be included. Todd says the calendar, which will be available from October and is expected to be a hot item for Christmas, will be the first of many, providing a steady source of income. I m excited to see where we re at in 12 months time. That will dictate to the trustees how we can spend that money. We ve got a few ideas one is having staff work with other agencies. Todd is very keen for the Police Dog Training Centre in Trentham to develop a detector dog breeding programme. We have a critical shortage of detector dogs in New Zealand. That s not just Police, that s across all the government agencies Aviation Security, Customs, Corrections and MPI. Most detector dogs currently come from charities such as the SPCA or Huha and, as much as the training centre and other agencies are grateful for them, the dogs can come with problems. The Australian Border Force supplies Labradors to some other agencies in New Zealand, and Police has signed an agreement to get some Labrador breeding stock for a small breeding programme, with multiagency input. Eight-week old puppies at the police dog training centre in Trentham. MAY 2016 POLICE NEWS THE VOICE OF POLICE

15 COVER STORY 15 Police Dog Trust chairman Inspector Todd Southall, National Co-ordinator: Police Dogs. No matter how long you ve been in the dog section, it is staggering sometimes the amount of interest when something happens to our dogs. But it is New Zealand, we re a dog-loving country, and we get it. However, a full detector dog breeding programme would require an increase in the facilities and funding at Trentham, which is being considered. Another initiative Todd is considering is an exchange programme with Australian police dog handlers. It might be that we send one of our handlers to Australia to assist on a course over there. We get some skills and knowledge and experience; they learn from us and we learn from them. We want interoperability with the Australians so if we are deployed over there, or vice versa, we are pretty much on the same page. The breeding programme The New Zealand police dog breeding programme has an excellent international reputation and more than 700 puppies have been born at Trentham over the past 15 years. About 90 per cent of our German shepherd stock is bred there, compared with about 10 per cent when the programme started. Only 55 to 60 per cent of each litter will become operational police dogs. Litters are produced to demand, but they don t always go to plan as the dogs must reach certain standards to become operational. Last year the dog centre had several litters of just one and two puppies, but this year they ve had a great start, with 30 puppies born in the first three litters of the year. In a typical year, 50 to 60 puppies will be born. It costs Police about $50,000 to raise and train a police dog. We are only just meeting demand, Todd says. That s why we are pushing to increase our facilities here. They re a bit dated and we need to move with the times. Having visited the Australian Border Force s new A$35 million facility, Todd has seen what could be done to improve the facilities at Trentham. Technology is already playing a part in smoother operations at the dog training centre and further afield. Cameras are set up in the whelping unit, providing a live feed so the breeding services staff can monitor birthing remotely on mobile phones and call a vet if complications arise, rather than staying on the premises overnight. When police dog Thames went missing in the Tararua Ranges last year, the incident caused a few headaches for police, but Thames was found and positive outcome was that all search and rescue dogs now carry GPS units. When Thames was lost, it was also yet another example of the high public interest in the dog section. No matter how long you ve been in the dog section, it is staggering sometimes the amount of interest when something happens to our dogs. But it is New Zealand, we re a dog-loving country, and we get it. Connect with the Police Dog Trust Facebook page: facebook.com/ policedogtrust. To donate to the Police Dog Trust, go to the website co.nz and click on the Donate button. You can also buy merchandise there. If you are interested in fostering, dogtrust@police.govt.nz for more details. TESTING TIMES FOR YOUNG PUPS Testing begins at a young age for police puppies. They are put through their paces at seven weeks old to look for early signs of confidence and other desirable behavioural traits, such as a high hunt drive, good nerves and temperament and environmental soundness all indicators of a potentially successful police dog. When Police News visited the National Dog Training Centre last month, puppies from the I litter were being tested in a specially setup room. Each puppy was put in a room with Breeding Services staff member Alison Munn and given a series of tasks designed to test their natural reactions for example, hearing a loud noise, picking up a scrunched-up piece of paper, and playing tug of war. Then it was on to the obstacle room where they had to make their way out through a maze of low walls and shiny surfaces designed to distract and intimidate them. Puppies displayed a range of behaviours, varying from shying away from the person to playing tug of war with vigour. Breeding Services manager Scott Bruce said bold puppies would be placed in foster homes with firm boundaries, while shy ones needed to be encouraged to build confidence. To see a video of the testing, visit the Police Association Facebook page. Alison Munn, Breeding Services staff member, with puppy Iva during his testing. Photos: HEATHER McDONALD A monitoring screen in the whelping unit shows a live feed of Gypsy and her four-day old K litter pups. NEW ZEALAND POLICE ASSOCIATION MAY 2016

16 16 NOTEBOOK Occasionally, pay parades were useful to gather staff together for group photographs such as this image taken in Auckland in Photos: KEN BREWER COLLECTION A SHOW of FORCE Pay parades are part of the Police calendar now, but when Counties Manukau Police held one in March 2009, it was the first formal pay parade to have taken place there in 11 years. The district was reviving a tradition that began with the establishment of the earliest policing body in New Zealand in 1840, writes Ken Brewer. The March 2009 pay parade in South Auckland that helped revive the tradition. Pay parades originated from the military practice of parading troops to give them their pay, to inspect them and the lesser known purpose of providing an accurate method of counting the ranks and quantifying the number of deserters. The parades were adopted by the police service as part of the retention of military discipline. For the police, often working alone and scattered around multiple locations, even in the larger centres, pay parades became an important system of maintaining standards and were later adapted for the presentation of service awards, unlike the military that generally retained special parades for such occasions. Long before the days of individual identification, or warrant cards, it was necessary for police staff to produce confirmation of identity before being paid. When they joined, each officer was issued with several items of equipment itemised on a Form 18 Certificate of Appointments document bearing their name at the top and countersigned by a senior officer. As they progressed through their careers, the list of items grew, especially if they were required to use a horse for transport and items such as saddles, harnesse and spurs were added. For many decades, it was this list they had to produce for identification, but it also proved to be a liability for some. Without producing this list of items, an officer could not be paid and if the list was lost or mislaid, a replacement had to be issued. This involved producing every item of equipment, which was examined and checked off against the headquarters copy, resulting in worn, damaged or missing items being replaced, the cost of which was deducted from that man s pay. What money was left, if any, was eventually paid out to him. Exactly when the parades passed into the realm of the purely ceremonial is uncertain. With the introduction of salary and wage payments by cheque, followed by direct credit payment to personal bank accounts, pay parades began to disappear except for special events or occasions. While some districts have managed to revive them over the years, others, through workload or staffing and resource issues, have been less capable of regularly organising what can become quite large events. While it would be nice to see more photographs taken of large groups of staff on these occasions, the sheer numbers often make it impractical. However, such photographs contribute to the history of the New Zealand Police and become important artefacts for the future. The most recent Police pay parade was held on May 6 at Christchurch Central Police Station. MAY 2016 POLICE NEWS THE VOICE OF POLICE

17 Don t end up being this guy HOLIDAY HOME ETIQUETTE The Police Association s extensive Holiday Home network is a valued resource for all members. Unfortunately, we occasionally have to remind a minority of members about the rules of use. Recently, the board of directors was forced to ban a member from using the network for several months after an unruly party he held in a Holiday Home disturbed neighbours. The member had booked the home for a celebration and had invited more people than it could accommodate. The group was evicted on the night. With the installation of lock boxes at the homes, there is often no check on who is picking up the keys. The member, or their current spouse, must be at the home for the whole term of the occupancy. If we find that is this is not the case, we will evict the friends or family members from the home and contact the member who made the booking. The purpose of the Holiday Homes is to allow members and their families to have an affordable holiday in a good location. The homes are for your use, not for friends, relatives or acquaintances who are not members. LET S CLEAR THIS UP Now that members can us their Health Plan claims (including receipts) and prior approvals, it s important that the documents you send us are legible. Police Health Plan staff have been having difficulty reading some out-of-focus photographs of documents that have arrived via . If possible, it s best to use a scanner to copy your document, rather than a camera, and to attach them as a PDF or JPEG. If you have to use a camera, make sure the photos of your documents are sharp and that the words are legible. Surgical approvals Also, now that members can us their surgical prior approvals, that does not mean you should be sending them in only a few days before your surgery. Members who require surgery are generally given several weeks notice from their surgeon, so please contact the Health Plan as soon as you know when surgery is scheduled. Survey We are about to conduct an online survey about Holiday Home usage and what members would like to see in terms of refinements and expansion. Please take the opportunity to give us feedback so we can improve this valued service. All forms for claims are available on our website, under Forms & Documents. Requests that are received fewer than 10 working days before surgery cannot be approved unless there is a genuine reason for the late application. In summary: If you are ing an electronic copy of your Health Plan claim form and invoices, ensure they are easily readable and are attached as pdfs or jpegs. Your surgical approval form needs to be received by Health Plan staff at least 10 working days before your surgery. ASK YOUR AUNTY... NOTEBOOK 17 She s firm but fair Dear Aunty I recently heard someone on my section tell an off-colour inappropriate joke to another staff member. Although the person laughed, I believe they probably found it offensive. I did, and it made me question my colleague s judgment. I want to make a Code of Conduct complaint against that member, but I m not sure who I should make it to, partly because I think my sergeant wouldn t take it seriously and would go easy on that person. Who should I tell? Not Funny Dear Not Funny It s true that some jokes are no laughing matter, but, in a case like this, it s best to start on the lowest rung of the ladder so let s take this down a notch or two. The workplace is about relationships and maintaining those relationships. Making a Code of Conduct complaint would elevate this situation beyond what is necessary at this stage. Although I don t know the details of the so-called joke, and even though you have fears about your sergeant not taking it seriously, the first step is to talk to him or her. Explain why you thought the joke was tactless and why you are concerned enough to raise it with them. Give your sergeant an opportunity to address your concerns and, if you still feel you have not been heard, you can elevate it to your senior sergeant or the HR office. Hi Aunty I work in CIB and my wife runs her own business. Any time I take family sick leave when one of my kids is sick, my d/sgt says it should be my wife taking the time off because she runs her own business. Can you tell me whether it should be me or my wife taking the leave? Father of two Dear Father of two Let s get legal for a second In a relevant ruling, the Employment Tribunal has said: It was none of Mr Henderson s (the employer s) business whether Mr Kid (the employee) or his wife took the day off to look after the children. That means that an employee is not required to justify to an employer why one parent and not the other stays at home to care for a child. It is up to you and your wife, not Police, to decide who stays home to look after your children when they are unwell. You can Ask Your Aunty at editor@policeassn.org.nz. NEW ZEALAND POLICE ASSOCIATION MAY 2016

18 18 NOTEBOOK WHEN YOU NEED A HUG Why do we love bears so much? Although we d run a mile from the real thing, soft-toy bears are probably the most popular of all cuddly toys. Psychologists say it s all to do with reminders of our childhood, and studies have shown that cuddling a teddy bear can relieve stress and anxiety. Some emergency responders keep them handy to comfort injured or traumatised children. But it s not just kids who get attached to teddies. A survey by hotel accommodation company Travelodge revealed that a third of British adults admitted they slept with their teddy bear, partly because the calming feeling of a bear hug helps them de-stress after a hard day. The company did the survey because in one 12-month period it had to reunite thousands of forgotten bears, found in 452 of its hotels, with their owners, many of them business people. YOU READ IT HERE Did you know that Police has a national library? Rebranded as Knowledge and Information Services (KAI), the Police s national library has been based for many years at the Police College. It holds an extensive in-house database of books, There were more revelations in the survey: one in 10 single men admitted they hid their teddy when their girlfriend stayed the night; 14 per cent of married men admitted that they hid teddy away when family and friends came to visit. It seems that our bears are really much more to us than toys. All of which means that the Police College s Munro Canteen is right on target with its newest soft toys Constable Bear and Norty Bear. Constable Bear is in a New Zealand Police uniform, minus the pants, which doesn t seem quite regulation, but it doesn t stop him apprehending Norty Bear, who conveniently comes with his own handcuff. Munro Canteen manager Janine Hill said the bears have been extremely popular. articles, journals, reports and DVDs and the information and resources are available to everyone who works for Police. The library also operates an alerting service through which staff can register to be notified when new information on particular topics of interest becomes available. KaI staff Melissa Osborne and Jo Rusk say You can buy them separately for $25 each, or as a pair for $45 (munrocanteen.nz or thecopshop.nz). hot topics now are policing excellence and evidence-based policing, such as alcoholharm reduction, body worn cameras and crime analysis. The library assists Police by carrying out database searches, collating information and lending material from other libraries. At one time, the library also had a fiction section, which people doing courses at the college found useful for their downtime. That is defunct now, but KAI has a growing collection of electronic resources and access to international research databases, including Australian police libraries. It s a wonderful national resource for all who work for Police, and Melissa and Jo are keen to remind employees that they are there, ready to help. So, the next time you need to refer to an article from the Journal of Experimental Criminology, for example, you know who to call, or , library@police. govt.nz. Resources can also be accessed through the Police intranet, nzpintranet/ groups/library. Melissa Osborne, left, and Jo Rusk co-ordinate Knowledge and Information Services, a national library resource accessible to anyone who works for Police. MAY 2016 POLICE NEWS THE VOICE OF POLICE

19 NOTEBOOK 19 YOUR AGMS When & Where The schedule for June/July The Police Association s local committee annual general meetings start next month, kicking off in Tokoroa on June 1 and running through till July 15. At the AGMs, committee members are elected for the coming year. This includes the chairperson, secretary, treasurer, vicechairperson and Conference delegate. The Association continues to promote diversity of representation on the committees and encourages members to attend and take part in the discussions. The AGMs are also your opportunity to discuss what is happening at a national level and ask questions directly of Association executive members who will attend the meetings. Don t be shy to put your hand up if you think you d like to help represent the interests of your fellow members (the Association provides training and support). And, remember, there s usually a good morning tea spread too. SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT JUNE 1 Tokoroa (3pm) 2 Rotorua (10am) Whakatane (2pm) 3 Tauranga (10am) Hamilton (2.30pm) PUBLIC HOLIDAY QUEEN S BIRTHDAY 7 New Plymouth (10am) Hawera (3pm) Masterton (3pm) 8 Whanganui (10am) Taihape (2pm) 9 Palmerston North (10am) Levin (2pm) 10 PNHQ (10am) Wellington (3pm) Hutt Valley (11am) Auckland (10am) Counties Manukau (3pm) 16 Christchurch (10.30am) Ashburton (2pm) 17 Timaru (9.30am) Kerikeri (10am) Whangarei (3pm) 21 North Shore (10am) Henderson (2pm) Queenstown (1pm) 24 Dunedin (10am) Invercargill (3pm) RNZPC (10am) Kapiti/Porirua (2pm) Gisborne (2pm) 28 Hastings (11am) Napier (2pm) JULY Blenheim (9.30am) Nelson (1pm) 15 West Coast (2pm) 16 NEW ZEALAND POLICE ASSOCIATION MAY 2016

20 20 NOTEBOOK NEW ZEALAND PINOT GRIS Writing wine articles can be a challenge at times, be it striking writer s block or just not being able to access enough wines to make evaluations on a regular basis. However, as well as the line-up of wines I buy and try myself and wines I taste elsewhere, I m now part of a panel that holds regular comparative tastings. They are always done blind, with the bottles wrapped in tinfoil, so we have no idea what we are tasting, apart from the wine variety or varieties. Blind tastings are a robust means of evaluating wines because your assessment is based solely on what you see, smell and taste from the wine glass. Comparative tastings also improve the consistency of your assessments, as they allow you to establish a reference point by finding what you personally think is the best wine and then comparing the rest against it. The latest range of wines I have tried are New Zealand pinot gris. I haven t been a big fan of our pinot gris in the past because so many have been out of balance with alcoholic heat dominating the taste. This latest tasting was a bit of a revelation, though, as seven of the eight wines I tried showed none of that. In fact, the vast majority were very good. Here are my thoughts on the four I liked the most. BRAIN TEASER 1. Which writer had a black cat called Caterina, that was the inspiration for his story The Black Cat? 2. What was the first product sold by Heinz in 1869? 3. Which Welsh singer was born Gaynor Hopkins? 4. What year did the All Blacks debut internationally? 5. What word can precede the following; shine, light, stone? 2015 TOHU ARONUI NELSON PINOT GRIS $22 Score 68 This is an interesting wine; very subtle on the nose, but explosive flavours on the palate. On both the nose and palate there are notes of apple, pears and honey. The balance of the wine was a little disappointing, with not enough acid there to give it structure and longevity. But if you re looking for a tasty, drinknow wine, then this is worth considering. The Fine Wine Delivery Company occasionally sharpens its price on this one TOHU AWATERE VALLEY PINOT GRIS $22 Score 71 This is a drier-style pinot gris with pears and some lanolin on the nose. Those pears, along with apple and spices, come through on the palate. It s well structured, fresh and vibrant, with a nice finish and will work well with most chicken or pork dishes PALLISER ESTATE MARTINBOROUGH PINOT GRIS $28 Score 74 This wine has delicate aromas of citrus fruits, some spice and a little nuttiness. It s a full-bodied, textural wine with pears, honey and spices on the palate. It s not that complex, but the balance, length and finish are all appealing. I went back for a second taste an hour or so later and its density and viscosity had increased. It reminded me of a French Alsacestyle pinot gris, which I really like. This wine has been on sale recently through the Fine Wine Delivery Company for about $ BRANCOTT ESTATE F LETTER SERIES MARLBOROUGH PINOT GRIS $33 Score 77 I really enjoyed this wine. It has pears, stone-fruits, nuttiness and spice on the nose and palate. It s fullbodied with good structure and intensity of flavour. The mouth-feel, length and finish are all pretty much what you d expect from a good quality pinot gris. The only detraction was a slight hint of heat, but you d have to be really looking for that to find it. Wines from Brancott Estate s Letter Series range have never disappointed me. While the RRP is up there, they are quite often on sale at Countdown supermarkets. 6. Which country has the internet domain.ch? 7. Patience and Fortitude are the names of two stone lions outside which New York building? 8. The J approach and the Flared approach are associated with which Olympic event? 9. Paihama is the Maori word for which animal? 10. Gingerbread men were first attributed to which English monarch, who allegedly served them to foreign dignitaries? Answers: 1. Edgar Allen Poe; 2. Horseradish; 3. Bonnie Tyler; ; 5. Moon; 6. Switzerland; 7. New York Public Library; 8. High Jump; 9. Possum; 10. Queen Elizabeth I MAY 2016 POLICE NEWS THE VOICE OF POLICE

21 HEALTH AND WELLBEING 21 HANDBOOK FOR HEALTHY COPS An American police badge on the front cover gives the impression that this book might not be relevant to New Zealand police officers. First impressions can be so wrong! Emotional Survival is a very readable, and often amusing, insight into the challenges of being a police officer anywhere in the world, and how they can keep their life and work on track. I was encouraged to read it by a Melbourne police officer. Senior Sergeant Wayne Williams told me: Gilmartin clearly identifies simple but extremely effective ways for us to keep healthy in such a unique work environment. The book is a must-read, not only for police members, but for their families as well. Gilmartin spent 20 years working in law enforcement in the United States before becoming a behavioural scientist. He now consults for police agencies through the United States and Canada and has received awards for his work in hostage negotiations and police psychology programmes. He clearly identifies simple but extremely effective ways for us to keep healthy in such a unique work environment. What makes this book so relevant is that everything is examined scientifically, but through the lens of police officers and their work. Gilmartin begins by asking officers to consider whether or not their world view has changed since joining police. He explains the biology of stress and the hyper-vigilance rollercoaster that drives officer behaviour and how some officers can change from being idealistic and committed to angry and cynical, causing problems in their personal and professional lives. He uses some very recognisable police speak (ie, colourful language) to explain how officers find ways to cope with the challenges of the job and he looks at why some officers thrive and others do not. Gilmartin s view is that officers often find it difficult to cope with how little control they have in their work environment and that it is important for them to proactively manage that reality through other parts of their lives. He describes the magic chair test, in which officers transport themselves to a place where they feel they can recover EMOTIONAL SURVIVAL FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT By Kevin M Gilmartin (E-S Press, pb) Reviewed by Shona Munro from the demands of the job. It could be any activity that requires no engagement with others and very little physical and mental effort. Gilmartin suggests that this is a dangerous coping behaviour because it involves increasing dissociation with activities that support wellbeing. The key to success, he says, is developing emotional equilibrium. He asks officers to consider how much of their sense of self is tied to being a cop and how much is defined by other aspects of their lives. As a policing leadership/wellbeing and stress researcher, I thought Gilmartin captured the essence of the challenges of police work. I checked out my hunch by asking a few police officers to read the book and tell me what they thought. This book is a must-read for all Police staff and their significant other. It enables you to regain control of your life outside of work, and develop a real work-life balance. Detective Constable Gordon Narby, Ohakune I think it has valuable information for all police officers, particularly those who are reaching the two-year mark in the role. It would help them to avoid falling into the danger zone where their sense of self can be engulfed by the job. Sergeant Bernie Boyle, Wellington I have no doubt that had I read this book 10 years ago, I would still be in uniform, excelling in the job I had always loved. Instead, without understanding what was happening to me, I allowed myself to fall victim to the effects of the hyper-vigilance emotional rollercoaster that Gilmartin talks about. Unfortunately, my story is probably similar to those of many others who have similarly felt compelled to leave the job and the organisation we all loved none of us quite understanding how or why we had reached an emotional point of no return. It was only when I read Gilmartin s book that everything clicked into place and I finally understood what had happened to me. Rob Neil, Police employee, strategic adviser Lessons Learnt Project, Wellington The Police Knowledge and Information centre (aka the library based at the Police College) had issued its single copy of Emotional Survival only 10 times in the past 10 years, but this year it has ordered five more copies and has a waiting list for the book. Exposure to the messages in Emotional Survival is timely for Police staff. The current economic environment, with its do more with less requirement, puts pressure on workloads and exposes inappropriate leadership styles and poor communication. International research is clear that workers in high-risk occupations are at even greater risk of being affected by these factors under such conditions. Gilmartin recently completed a tour in Australia, hosted by the Victoria Police Association, which bought bulk copies of his book to give to officers who attended his lectures. I hope this book will be well read here and at the very least create discussion, not just about emotional survival, but about how to thrive in the job. Shona Munro has worked for Police for 10 years and is now a teaching and learning adviser at the Police College. She has a background as a human performance consultant and is about to submit her doctoral thesis at Deakin University in Melbourne based on an action research project examining a leadership and coaching programme on which she led the design and development and advised on the implementation. The programme was for sergeants and is being rolled out across metropolitan police stations in Melbourne. NEW ZEALAND POLICE ASSOCIATION MAY 2016

22 22 SPORT SPORTS DIARY 2016 CORPORATE SKY TOWER STAIR CHALLENGE When: August 5, 2016 Where: Auckland Contact: Cyrus Robinson, POLICE ASSOCIATION WINTER GAMES When: August 31-September 2, 2016 Where: Queenstown Contact: Dave Gallagher, Police Sport, Note: The 2016 Winter Games will be held in Queenstown, with an array of events held over three days, including rugby, football, netball, mountain biking and, for the first time in years, volleyball. Information on transport, accommodation and contacts for each sport can be found at org.nz/winter-games/. INTER-SERVICES SOFTBALL TRAINING CAMP When: September 16-18, 2016 Where: Police College Contact: Dave Gallagher, Police Sport, Note: 2017 is shaping up to be the best year yet, with Police Sport hosting the next inter-services tournament. In preparation, a midwinter training camp will be held from September this year at the Police College. Police Sport is keen to hear from anyone who can assist with training or management duties over that weekend and any other roles, including being part of a tournament committee AUSTRALASIAN POLICE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES GAMES When: October 8-15, 2016 Where: Sunshine Coast, Queensland Note: Registrations are open and details of the 50-plus sports categories are on the website, apandesgames.com.au. Entries close September 23, The winning Hawke s Bay team, from left, Rachael Macky, James Mason, Grant Holder, Mike Kiri, Hoki Ward, Willie Black, Jason Evans, Andrew Graham and Miriama Mataroa, with their Police Association trophy for overall points. Photo: GREG ANDREW PADDLING TO GLORY More than 100 keen paddlers travelled from around the North Island to compete in the Police Association Waka Ama Championships, held in Hawke s Bay in March. The three-day event kicked off on March 30 with the open 20-kilometre race, which was run in millpond conditions and won by Taranaki, chased by Hawke s Bay. The conditions proved unpredictable later in the day for the novice 10km race. Nine teams battled through the waves with Hawke s Bay claiming the victory, closely Open men 1st Taranaki 2nd Wat U Got (Northland) 3rd Blue Balls (Hawke s Bay) Open Women 1st Gisborne 2nd Counties R E S U LT S followed by Gisborne. The choppy water proved too much for one team whose waka capsized and they had to be towed to the nearest surf club by the coastguard. The sprints were run in prime conditions the following day. Hawke s Bay took the Police Association Trophy for overall points. Christchurch will be hosting next year s championships, and organisers are looking to recruit more women s teams for next year. Open Mixed 1st Loveboat 1 (Gisborne) 2nd Loveboat 2 (Gisborne) 3rd Ririnui (Waikato) Novice men 1st Te Matau o Maui (Hawke s Bay) 2nd Riri-iti (Waikato) Novice Women 1st Taranaki 2nd Hawke s Bay Novice Mixed 1st Pirates (Hawke s Bay) 2nd Counties 3rd Gisborne 2016 POLICE ASSOCIATION SOUTH ISLAND GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS When: October 30-November 1, 2016 Where: Blenheim Contact: Dave Gallagher, Police Sport, info@policesport.org.nz, or Chris Lucy, CLG115@police.govt.nz The Wellington crew. Photo: RACHAEL MACKY MAY 2016 POLICE NEWS THE VOICE OF POLICE

23 SPORT 23 PITCHING IN A mixture of new and old members turned out for the New Zealand Police Women s Softball team at the Inter-Services tournament at Whenuapai Air Force Base earlier this year. First-year players were Vicky Baldie, Kylie Kennett, Anna Partridge, Glenda Peri and Mel Hinga, who drew the short straw for pitching duties and carried the team through. The rookies did the team proud with outstanding performances by each of them. Brooke Collins was the standout returning player, rallying the team, linking the outfield and infield and providing fantastic batting and infield cover. Home runs were recorded by Kennett and Hinga, with Meagan Lyle hitting a grand slam. The team received special mention for sportsmanship by the competition organisers. New Zealand Police Women s Softball is keen to hear from any players with high level playing experience who would like to join and receive updates on tournaments. a playing CV or expression of interest to Jo Wigman at JWAV59@police.govt.nz. Clockwise from top left: Glenda Piri, Deb Quested, Rosa Wallace, Kylie Kennett, team members (from left, Nancy Blaikie, Jo Keith, Jo Wigman, Brooke Collins, Mel Hinga, Deb Quested, Glenda Peri) and Mel Hinga. Photos: VICKY BALDIE NEW ZEALAND POLICE ASSOCIATION MAY 2016

24 24 NOTEBOOK Our homes make getting away on holiday affordable A Police Welfare Fund Holiday Home for just $60 a night is great value. WHANGAMATA With a mix of ocean beach, rainforest and a safe boating harbour, the North Island town of Whangamata offers year-round fun on land and water. Take to the bush-clad hills for tramping, mountain biking, horse riding and historic gold mine sites or get out on the water, which has some of the best surfing breaks in the country. Close to Tauranga and Rotorua, Whangamata is also the Gateway to the Coromandel and is only an hour s drive from Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach. Other activities include: fishing, diving and snorkelling; boating and kayaking; golf; waka charters; arts trails; meditation centres and retreats. The Police Association has two homes in Whangamata ($60 a night), close to the centre of the town, sleeping seven and five. They both have a TV, DVD player, washing machine, dryer, spare blankets, pillows, high chair, radio and a fenced yard. GREYTOWN This dot on the Wairarapa map was New Zealand s first planned inland town and, as such, it still lays claim to the country s most complete main street of Victorian architecture. Since being rediscovered and restored in the 1990s, it has become a favoured weekend destination for jaded Wellingtonians, but it s worth a visit no matter what part of the country you re from. It s stuffed with cafes, excellent restaurants, upmarket boutiques, galleries and antique shops and is a great base from which to explore the rest of the province, the attractions of which are too many to list here. Visit wairarapanz.com/greytown for more info. The Police Association has two homes in Greytown ($60 a night). Both sleep eight and have a TV, DVD player, washing machine, dryer, shower, bath, spare blankets, pillows, fold-out couch, port-acot, high chair, radio, kitchen facilities and a car port and fully fenced section. AKAROA The pretty Banks Peninsula town of Akaroa just oozes Gallic charm thanks to its mix of French and British colonial roots. Everyone who makes the 75-kilometre journey to Akaroa from Christchurch is delighted by the ambience of this village with its colonial architecture, galleries, craft stores and cafes. For the more adventurous, there is also: fishing, diving, kayaking, walks, jet boating, sailing, wildlife tours, garden tours, wineries and the Barry s Bay Cheese Company. The Police Association has two homes in Akaroa ($60 a night), close to the centre of the town. Both sleep eight and have a TV, DVD player, washing machine, dryer, spare blankets, pillows, port-a-cot, high chair, radio, a secure garage. There are dates available for houses at these holiday destinations and others around the country. Visit or call us on Don t be stranded by the roadside If your vehicle has Full Cover with Police Fire & General Insurance, we provide a professional roadside assistance service free of charge. Any time your car has a breakdown, a flat battery, a flat tyre, or maybe you run out of petrol, or lock the keys in the car, you can call Police Welfare Fund Roadside Assist Plus for help. The beauty of the 24-hour service is that cover is attached to the insured vehicle, not the driver, so it doesn t matter who is driving your car. If they have a problem, the driver can contact the service. This premium service includes a rental vehicle and/or accommodation if your vehicle breaks down 100 kilometres or more from your home. These are benefits not generally provided by standard roadside support services. A full description of Police Welfare Fund Roadside Assist Plus services is on the Police Fire & General Insurance page of our website: Trailers, caravans and vehicles with third party insurance are excluded from cover. Getting cover is easy Insure your vehicle with Full Cover Police Fire & General Insurance and you re automatically covered. For a quote, Welfare Fund members can log in and visit the insurances section of our website: or call MAY 2016 POLICE NEWS THE VOICE OF POLICE

25 LETTERS 25 Letters to the editor must include the writer s full name, address and telephone number, and may be edited for purposes of clarity and space. editor@policeassn.org.nz or write to Editor, PO Box 12344, Wellington The tipping point? Are firearms-related incidents becoming more frequent? I m pretty sure the answer is yes. You could argue but the bad guys have always had guns, and to a point that is true, or that it s just a phase they are going through, but now it s more about the number of people prepared to use firearms against police and often in public. Lately, it s been a regular occurrence to shoot at cops or level a firearm at a cop. Through experience ( lessons learnt is the phrase we use), we know that things can turn on a dime and that, quite suddenly, a regular, everyday job becomes a serious incident and you're in the firing line. The OSH line is: Is it foreseeable and preventable? The nature of policing, due to our experience and lessons learnt, is, that, yes, ultimately it is foreseeable, but not always preventable because the offender always has the drop on us and the offender means to do us harm. It s different to industrial accidents. Nowadays, the chance of being shot at is more common, predictable even. For example, here is a recent intel brief (details changed to maintain privacy): Joe Criminal is an extremely high-risk violent offender. Recent information suggests he is in possession of firearms and, based on previous incidents, he will not hesitate to use weapons against police. He is currently WTA, WTI and RTA. He is bailed to an address, but travels across Auckland. In fact, he was one of two nominated criminals that night on the intel brief. The second, noted as carries firearms, was arrested after a pursuit and a doublebarrelled shotgun was found on the seat of his car. I know some cops don t want guns. I get that, but lots of us realise that it may be necessary and that having it and not needing it on the frontline is far better than needing it and not having it. I wasn t a bad sprinter in my day, but I can t back myself to run back to the car once shots are fired, get the safe open and arm myself, all while maintaining a tactical watch on the situation. There will be a death or serious injury before we are armed, of that I have no doubt. Am I a gun nut? No, I have never had a firearm outside of my professional career. I love the idea of an unarmed police force, but I m not prepared to die, or see a colleague die, for that ideal. We re reluctant; I understand that, but the world has moved on and we haven t. I ve spent time on the streets with cops in the United States and seen how they work. Their approach is a bit different, and they aren t so laidback and trusting as us Kiwis. We have, however, for years had firearms at our airports to align with international policy. Have we had complaints from the public about that, or a spate of shootings? Not that I know of. We ve had firearms on hips when engaged in escorting money or crime squads going to jobs that, in most cases, GDB have already gone to 10/7, unarmed. How many times have airport police needed firearms? Or money escorts? I don t know, but I do know that frontline officers encounter far more situations in which firearms may be needed than anyone else, and, lately, we ll watch it on the news. I won t forget the day not long ago when team policing members were shot at on Queen St in Auckland. The tactical response was close your eyes, run, dodge, hide and hope. Luckily, the shooter didn t want to play longer and wasn t looking to kill cops, because he could have done so easily and police had no response. If he had jumped out of the car and gone for them, he would have got them. We don t want controversial shootings, but we don t want dead cops, either. At some point, only a firearm on the cop is going to save his life because the other options won t fit the scenario. If it happens, do we (the department or supervisors) then get prosecuted by OSH for failing to take the necessary steps to prevent harm to an employee? I d like to hear your thoughts, team. IVAN FELTON Auckland Why I ve changed my mind have been in Police almost 10 years and in I the early years I was generally on the fence about arming, but my opinion has changed after working at a rural station for the past 18 months. I am the sole detective at a rural police station. At best, there are two frontline staff working. If the frontline guys are short, I try to assist by attending jobs. After one burglary report, the frontline staff attended and found that the informant had disturbed a male inside her house and a quantity of jewellery and her vehicle had been stolen. I assisted by conducting mobile searches for the offender and the vehicle. I was equipped with the standard issue tactical options and SRBA. I don t have easy access to a firearm or Taser. To get either of those, I would have to go to the main station for the area. However, there generally aren t firearms available in that station safe as they are assigned to the patrol vehicles and rightly so. A few minutes into my patrol, I found the stolen vehicle off to the side of a back road in a remote area of town. It was with another vehicle. There was a male who I didn t recognise loitering between the two vehicles and appeared to be talking to someone in the other unidentified vehicle. I advised Comms that I was off with the vehicle, etc, and got out to speak to the male with the stolen car (with a view to arrest him). The male got into the stolen vehicle and both vehicles drove off at speed. Naturally, a pursuit was initiated but a few minutes later the vehicles were lost. Before the pursuit started, I had a small window of opportunity to try to restrain the male as he was close to me. As he ran to his vehicle, I made a split-second decision not chase after him on foot as I was wary of the stolen vehicle and its occupants and the possibility of being run over by the vehicles. After the pursuit, with the assistance of our FIO, I identified the driver. He was wanted for a raft of offences up and down the North Island. When I QPed the male I noticed that he had a recent alert for being in possession of firearm, entered about two months earlier. I later learnt that there was CHIS information saying he was in possession of a pistol and had done some robberies with the firearm. A couple of what if scenarios ran through my head. What if he had armed himself with the shotgun or pistol that he allegedly had and had started shooting at me? There I was, unarmed and outnumbered in the middle of nowhere, having to defend myself somehow. Back-up could have been minutes away (not uncommon for the area). I can think of several other incidents where firearms have been needed but were not available and it was only sheer luck that no officers were hurt, and I m sure similar situations occur elsewhere. NEW ZEALAND POLICE ASSOCIATION MAY 2016

26 26 LETTERS My challenge to the executive/ management is to find out what frontline staff think about general arming. I feel like the executive/management are being politically correct and saying what the Government wants them to say, instead of listening to the coalface of police. It s all good and well saying that the firearms are available if needed, but it s the unexpected times, when we need them and don t have them because they are in the lock box or at the station, that concern me the most. With the increasing number of violent incidents that police, including, on occasion, myself, are dealing with, I strongly believe we should be armed at all times. NAME WITHHELD The Police Association regularly canvasses members about arming. In last year s Nielsen survey, 65 per cent of frontline Police staff supported general arming, with the highest support among road policing staff (76%) and GDB (70%). The survey also showed a 16 per cent increase over three years in the number of constabulary members who had reported being threatened with firearms. Editor A mile in their shoes As the parent of an adult son who is on the autistic spectrum, I highly commend Ellen Brook on her article in the April Police News. She captured the essence of how many of us parents feel They are not unhappy, but have known great sadness. They don't want pity, but they would like a little more understanding." and how we have a different type of normal. It was very heartening to read of Neil, Ben and Nick s little network that provides them with understanding and support and how, at times, they use good old dark humour to lighten the unremitting responsibilities they each carry for their child s wellbeing. Thank you, too, to Todd and Greg for sharing their stories and helping to raise awareness that some of us have children who approach living differently, but who deserve respect and the opportunity to lead the best life possible. Achieving a more understanding and inclusive society will enhance their chances of doing just that. It would be extra wonderful if, as a result of this story, some of us who have work colleagues with special needs children or young adults were able to maybe once in a while (and I know everyone is so busy, especially those who work shifts and have families of their own) make a meal, bake, offer to include the other siblings in their family outing, or just ask, Is there anything I can do to help lighten your load for a day?" Any of that would have brought a smile to my face when my son was younger. I don't know if the families are aware that Parent to Parent offers advice and has camps for siblings of children with special needs. It would be great also if an informal support network could be established, even if it s just a Facebook page. MAUREEN WALKER Wellington Lost property procedures Alan Strang was good enough to write to Police News (Letters, Jan-Feb) about the new property system and I felt I should respond. I was the relieving watch house keeper at one of our suburban stations when Alan popped in after finding a woman s handbag. After a brief inspection it was clear that due to the amount of information in the bag, there would be no problem in returning it to the owner. I completed a Found Property sticker, including where and when the property was found. Alan s details were not recorded as he had no interest in claiming the property and it was clear that there was plenty of identification in the bag to return it to the owner. The property was quickly returned that day and no 2K file was created. When I cleared the station answerphone the next morning, I listened to a message from Alan, who is a former police officer, expressing concern over the process and requesting from whomever received his call that they should ensure the property handed in would be dealt with properly. I managed to track Alan down and let him know that his good deed had made the day for the owner of the bag, and to fully explain the new process for found property. A happy ending but, because of the new system, Alan's trust and confidence in me and the Police was questioned. The old FPR form was tedious to prepare, as are many Police documents, and frustrating for the person who only wanted to hand in something they had found, but the purpose of them was to protect staff with a clear audit trail and a receipt for the finder. As we know, these can now not exist, particularly when the property is returned the same day. Since receiving Alan's call, which was only luck, I tend to produce property files for all property handed to me, whether it is returned the same day or not. Putting the where and when on a single small sticker with no receipt does not instil confidence. Continuous Improvement? GRAHAM MORGAN Christchurch Scary insights have just finished reading an incredible I book called Picking up the Pieces by British criminal psychologist Paul Britton. It gives a scary insight into the minds and behaviour of some of the most dangerous, devious and mentally damaged criminals in Britain. Britton s interviewing experiences would have application for New Zealand Police and I would recommend his book as essential reading for all detectives and those aspiring to be designated as such before passing Psych 1. The interviewing techniques and laborious nature of Britton s perseverance alone is certainly top notch. STEVE ANDERTON Paraparaumu The Police Creed wonder if Police News readers would have I any information about the New Zealand Police Creed? In January this year, the 33rd Recruit Wing celebrated its 50th anniversary in Wellington. While reminiscing, one of our members asked if anyone remembered the New Zealand Police Creed. Everyone remembered that there was one and that every police station had a framed copy hanging on its wall. However, no one could remember the wording, despite having had to learn it by rote at the Police Training School in What was recalled was only the ending, which was courteous and respectful towards the law-abiding public, which I have the honour to serve. The Creed is not to be confused with the Oath, as they are two different documents. I have made inquiries at the Police College, the Police Museum and with various police historians. I have looked online and I checked the published New Zealand Police history books, all without success. Sadly, this part of our police history has been overlooked and forgotten. It should be remembered. Perhaps a reader could assist with the wording. If so, my contact details are cjlibby@xtra.co.nz or telephone or CLINT LIBBY Wellington MAY 2016 POLICE NEWS THE VOICE OF POLICE

27 JOB VACANCY WELLINGTON-BASED INDUSTRIAL OFFICER/ SENIOR INDUSTRIAL OFFICER We are looking for a motivated person to join the Police Association s Wellington-based National Office team. The successful applicant will work closely with other Industrial and Legal Officers and our eight Field Officers. They will deliver industrial advice, support and representation to not only our nationwide network of elected representatives but also to more than 11,000 constabulary and Police employee members. This role will contribute to the development and achievement of Police Association policies and objectives that enhance the professional reputation and wellbeing of members. The successful applicant will provide: Accurate advice and skilled advocacy to resolve employment matters in both informal and formal situations. This will include matters relating to performance, personal grievances, restructures, discipline and general enforcement of members terms and conditions of employment. Input into publicising the work of the Industrial team through the Association s monthly magazine and regular communications to local representatives and members. Input into the development of policy solutions on important strategic policing issues. Assistance with the preparation and delivery of employmentrelated education courses for our extensive network of Association representatives. Help with establishing and maintaining working relationships with the Association s elected structure and key Police managers. We are looking for a motivated person with proven industrial skills and empathy with Police staff and the environment in which they work. For further details including a job description see our website or the advert on SEEK. Applications, including CV, can be ed to John van der Heyden, john.vanderheyden@policeassn.org.nz NZ Police Association, PO Box 12344, Wellington Applications close Friday, May 13, USEFUL NEWS/VIEWS INFORMATION LETTERS 27 AND CONTACTS For product information and claim forms, visit our website, New Zealand Police Association Phone Freephone enquiries@policeassn.org.nz Police Health Plan For benefit information and claim forms, visit our website, Police Fire & General Insurance Online quotes and information see Insurances at or call or Claims Police Home Loans Police and Families Credit Union Freephone GSF information PSS information Field Officers Waitemata and Northland Districts Steve Hawkins Auckland City District Natalie Fraser Counties Manukau District Stewart Mills Waikato and BOP Districts Graeme McKay Eastern and Central Districts Kerry Ansell PNHQ, RNZPC and Wellington District Ron Lek Tasman and Canterbury Districts Catherine McEvedy Southern District Brian Ballantyne Vice-Presidents Luke Shadbolt Craig Tickelpenny Regional Directors Region One Waitemata and Northland Districts Jug Price Region Two Auckland and Counties Manukau Districts Emiel Logan Region Three Waikato and Bay of Plenty Districts Scott Thompson Region Four Eastern and Central Districts Emmet Lynch EDWARDS, John Emmett 20 Mar 16 Resigned Melbourne BUTTERWORTH, Graham 21 Mar 16 Resigned Waikanae CROFT, Douglas 30 Mar 16 Retired Napier CONNELLY, John 8 Apr 16 Serving Tuakau O CONNOR, Gerard Michael 12 Apr 16 Retired Greymouth MARSH, Kathleen 18 Apr 16 Partner Hamilton RADDEN, Maurice 22 Apr 16 Retired ELWELL, Dudley Slim William 24 Apr 16 Retired Region Five PNHQ, RNZPC and Wellington District Pat Thomas Region Six Tasman and Canterbury Districts Mike McRandle Region Seven Southern District Mike Thomas For urgent industrial and legal advice ring 0800 TEN NINE ( ) 24 hour/ seven days service NEW ZEALAND POLICE ASSOCIATION MAY 2016