Bald On The Beat - New Zealand Police Association

New Zealand Police AssociationCommissioner sees “immense benefit” ingreater collaboration for the good of policingPolice Commissioner Howard Broad adopteda theme of greater professionalism, buildinga platform of developing policing over severalyears and what he called “the garnering of thecollective will to improve policing” in his addressto the Police Association’s Annual Conference.He said that the recent pay round settlement had“delivered an unprecedented result for both thePolice administration and members of Police”.Commissioner Broad said he believed “theresult and some characteristics of the result, willprovide a platform for the development of thePolice over the next several years”.He felt it was a time for “great optimism, andone that warrants the garnering of a collectivewill to make some important ground for thePolice and the public we serve”.Firm intentionTo that end he said it was his “firm intention tooperate inclusively with the Police Associationand I would hope with a high level of trust;trust freely given and received on both sides”.In terms of an accent on greaterprofessionalism, the Commissioner sawrewards that would flow from that, whichwould augur “extremely well” for themembership of the Police Association. He saidhe saw room for what he termed “some bluesky gazing”, as Police “attempt to predict therequirements of the future and then lay ourview down in hard practical typescript as partof the shaping of a new Police Act.” This was• Police Commissioner Howard Broadaddresses delegates.a process that would call for great wisdom, aswell as the willing acceptance of quite somerisk, he said.“Our collective legacy will be defined by ourwillingness to think of those who will followrather than solely about ourselves - and I lookforward to the debates of the next two yearswith enthusiasm. I already see benefit in theinvolvement of Association representativesin the Police Act development process andthink this may be a desirable approach fordevelopments in the future; the consequencesof disappointment here are immense,” theCommissioner told delegates.“The opportunity to do the first full rewrite ofthe Police Act in 50 years is not a bad positionto be in,” he said.More reflection and engagementHe said it was also a time for more reflectionthan usual – of both Police’s strengths andweaknesses and he said that unless Policeengaged in this process themselves “therewould be others who will line up to do it for us”.“I certainly do not want to be a Commissionerthat has an annual Commission of Inquiry intothis or that aspect of policing, I want to be aCommissioner that leads an organisation trustedfor its world view and for the key judgements itmakes, including those around the powers andresources that it requires,” he said.Commissioner Broad said that he thought thePolice and the Police Association had beforethem “a test of the relationship that we have”.He said he saw “immense benefit in greatercollaboration” and that was dependent on theneed for a shift in the style of the relationship,and in the knowledge that there is much inpolicing that is at stake if a shift to a differentmodel did not take place. He hoped the futurewould include “a willingness to engage, awillingness to do business, and a willingness tohave my world view shifted by solid argumentand other persuasion.”Commissioner Broad also took the opportunity topay tribute to Police Association President, GregO’Connor, saying that he was “encouraged” bythe relationship that had developed since he wasappointed several months ago.Lightening things up…Every conference has its lightermoments in amongst the seriousbusiness and this one was noexception…Time gentleman pleaseScottish Police Federation Deputy GeneralSecretary, Hugh Little, opened his addressthus: “Greg has asked me to limit mytalk about the Scottish Police Federationto 10 minutes to explain our negotiatingmachinery and employment conditionsprocesses. Can I just say that is about thesame as trying to read War and Peaceduring your teatime, but I’ll give it a goanyway.”Don’t point that thing at meDuring the conference delegates saw a video ofa Taser demonstration at the Royal New ZealandPolice College when the starring role (read “theoffender”) was none other than AssociationPresident, Greg O’Connor. After being shot withthe device Mr O’Connor reacted with an expletiveand fell to the ground. A Conference delegatequipped: “Show us your undies” to which Gregquickly retorted: “I’d rather be a swearer thana screamer,” much to the amusement of theaudience.A last word from DerekWhen Waitakere rep, Derek Lawford, finallyconvinced delegates to pass a resolution aboutGSF (which he had been putting to conferenceannually for some years), AssociationPresident, Greg O’Connor, quipped: “Derek,I think that might be the first motion you’vegot through Conference ever?” Lawford cameback as quick as a flash: “No, Mr President, Ithink I got one through one year about makingthe morning tea break 10 minutes earlier.”Rather sheepishDuring the presentation of his Life Membershipformer Association Vice-President, GeoffSmith, was reminiscing about the hospitalityof Australians and how invariably he hadbeen at the “butt end of some sheep jokes”,which brought a quip from around where theAustralians were seated: “And what were youdoing at the butt end of a sheep anyway?”December 2006287