Articles
The Police Association investigates and researches a range of topical issues that affect our members and policing in general. Publishing our findings by way of articles, featured in Police News and on our website, is one of the ways we keep members and the public informed and up-to-date on policing matters.
Beginner’s Guide to Police Harassment
A North Island police station received a question from a resident asking how police can continually harass people and get away with it. In response, a sergeant posted this reply.
At the Forefront of Women’s Rugby
World champion Black Fern Constable Fiao’o Faamausili is the 2011 recipient of the New Zealand Police Association Police Sportsperson of the Year award.
The File Management Revolution
Some are saying the introduction of file management centres across the country is the single biggest change to police processing procedures since the introduction of the Whanganui computer system in 1976.
A Day in the Life of… the Disaster Victim Identification Unit
Significant loss of life, at home and abroad, presents major challenges for the Police Disaster Victim Identification unit as the team aims to name every victim of our worst tragedies.
The accidental killing of Michael Patrick Quirke
A family’s desire to restore the grave of a long-dead relative reveals a fascinating story of misadventure during a notorious manhunt in the lower North Island.
Australia Calling
Each year about 35,000 New Zealanders move to Australia and among them are police employees who want to check out the promised land of higher pay and better weather. So, just how good is the Aussie experience? We talk to Kiwi cops working for the Northern territory police force, which has recently run a recruitment drive in New Zealand.
Comms Health Check
We assess the vital signs of our national communications centres.
Downtown booze beat
As we await the outcome of the Government’s Alcohol Law Reform Bill, now in its final stages before Parliament, police on the streets deal nightly with the consequences of out-of-control drinking.
A Women's Place
Police say they want more women in commissioned roles. Saying it is easy, achieving it is a bit of a conundrum.
Fatigue in the Force
As new research reveals that the effects of fatigue are as bad as being drunk, police are reviewing policies around tiredness in the workplace. We look at the research and talk to police shift workers.
Sex and the Suburbs
Canterbury police have been caught in the middle of a clash between prostitutes displaced by the Christchurch earthquakes and residents of the suburbs they migrated to.
A day in the life of the Counties Manukau Road Crime Unit
The Counties Manukau Road Crime Unit doesn’t take anything at face value. The 24-member team has found that delving deeper into issues that may at first glance seem of little consequence is paying off. The unit’s no-nonsense approach has helped reveal large-scale drug operations, led to the confiscation of illegal weapons and stolen cars, and put many criminals behind bars.
Telemarketing or email advertising approaches
The Police Association is from time to time contacted by businesses checking the credentials of an organisation called Sportzbeat, after having been solicited for advertising by them. This solicitation usually takes the form of an email approach. Telemarketing may also have been used. Sportzbeat has no connection with either the Police Association or the Police Council of Sport, and is in no way endorsed or supported by either organisation.
Testing Times
The times for the Police physical competency test (PCT) may be about to change and that’s got some officers worried about what they may face at their next assessment. We explain the likely changes, the reason for them and attitudes to fitness.
House destroyed as wounded officer recovers
Senior Constable Bruce Lamb was still recovering from having his face shattered by a gunshot when his home was shattered by the first Christchurch earthquake.
Jolly Good Sports
Eight pages of photos from the 2012 Australasian Police & Emergency Games.
What the Otago researchers found
An Otago University study which compares existing PCT times and proposed PCT times has found that younger participants are disadvantaged by having to use a higher percentage of their maximum capacity than older participants.
Drug Busters - The dynamic TAG team from Tauranga
Drugged drivers are getting the hard word – and the prosecutions – put on them around the country, but in the Bay of Plenty western area the road police are exposing the law breakers at an astonishing rate.
Benefits of Hinds Sight
We look back on the career of former Police Association president Steve Hinds, the first commissioned officer to serve in the role. He retires from Police at the end of this month.
Locked and Loaded
The rollout of extra firearms and Tasers to frontline police vehicles has begun. It is a huge project, costing up to $6 million, affecting 1482 cars, all districts and frontline staff, and is the culmination of a significant shift in Police policy on firearms. We report on progress so far.
Learning on the job
Alfie Uluinayau, right, says members of the public do wonder about his uniform. It says police, but it’s not blue. He’s happy to explain that he is an authorised officer – new to the role since he finished training in April last year and now stationed at Auckland Central in its custody unit.
Sick Leave Bank draw down
New Zealand Police operates a Sick Leave Bank for all of its constabulary staff members. The Sick Leave Bank allows them to make application to the Sick Leave Bank Approval Committee for additional days of sick leave when their own sick leave entitlement has been exhausted.
A day in the life of an Inquest Officer
In the past five years, the focus of the Coroner’s Court in New Zealand has been on greater transparency and meeting the needs of families. Crucial to that, and acting as a conduit between police and the court, is the work of the inquest officer. Sophie Erasmuson reports.
A quiet revolution - the rise of the Authorised Officer
As Police rollout uniforms for authorised officers we background the rise of a new breed of officer. What may it mean for the future of policing?
New training for a new role
There’s no shortage of applicants wanting to sign up for the authorised officer positions being advertised around the country with a starting salary of $52,000.
Dealing with consequences of an open Coroner's Court
How do we protect police officers from the “media dogs”? That was one of the questions put to Chief Coroner Neil MacLean at the 2011 Police Association Annual Conference.
Resourcing Excellence - Turnaround in Otara
The extra staff poured into Counties-Manukau combined with smart policing, are starting to turn around Otara’s reputation as a high-crime neighbourhood, Police and community presenters told the Association’s Annual Conference last month.
Christchurch officers honoured
When Constable Mike Wardle was confronted point-blank with the barrel of loaded gun during a routine inquiry, all his training kicked in as he faced off the armed offender who had just shot two of his colleagues.
