Police News June 07.indd - New Zealand Police Association

New Zealand Police AssociationWrite it here! Letters to the Editor are welcome.Signed letters are preferred, but in all cases the writer’s name and address must be supplied. Names will be published unless there is a goodreason for anonymity. The editor reserves the right to edit, abridge or decline letters without explanation. Email to: editor@policeassn.org.nz orwrite it to the Editor at PO Box 12344, Wellington. Letters under 400 words are preferred.SRBA delays untenableMy colleagues and I are stunned by how theissuing of the SRBA body armour has becomesuch a complete farce. After almost 18 monthsof waiting (slightly longer than the initial 10weeks we were told), Canterbury staff are nowfollowing the North Island and having theSRBA delivered to them (kind of). On day twoof the roll out in Canterbury, almost half of thestaff on my section alone ended up not havingthe vests issued to them because they had runout of their size already.I was one of the few that did have SRBA issuedbut I’m as infuriated as the staff that missed outon the lack of vests in their sizes, as they weretold it could be another six months for themto get issued. If 10 weeks can be stretched to18 months, how many years can six monthsbe stretched out to? Flashback 18 months, andthe question is just why did we bother havingthose initial measurements done?Surely, having the measurements wouldhave given Police some idea of how manyare needed of each size (you would think).Even if suppliers changed, I’m sure they couldinterpret the measurements supplied to suittheir style of vest. We have all heard the excusestrumped out to us about supply problems,lack of fabric etc, but shouldn’t these mattershave been addressed at the time of the tender?Isn’t that why tenders are put out? None ofus care about these excuses anymore; nothingcan justify these delays continuing for so longat this late stage.How many of the staff responsible for thiswill fall on their swords when some poor copwho has not been issued SRBA falls on someoffender’s knife (none I am sure)? It’s getting abit old having all these senior officers pattingthemselves on the back about how great theyare for improving the safety of staff when all weare continuing to get are excuses and delays. Ido applaud the Police for getting the vests butare very disappointed in the way their deliveryhas been handled. Police have survived foryears without vests. But once a new safety itemis offered it should then be the Police’s toppriority to deliver them quickly and efficientlyin order to keep staff safe, not just talk abouthow great it will be when it happens. Theexcuses need to stop, and someone has tostand up, show some leadership and stop thisdebacle.Carl Christensen(Christchurch)SRBA delays put staff at riskI have just seen on the news another staffmember was stabbed in the North Island. Iunderstand that he had not been issued hisstab-resistant body armour (SRBA) but stilltook the decision that the majority of us take- to go to work without the equipment that wedeserve and require, in order to come homesafely should things go pear shaped!This might not mean much to the 9-5, threebreaks a day, office dwellers that sit in thetowers and don’t deal with offenders. Theconstant wringing of their hands apologeticallyabout the SRBA delays, blaming process,manufacture, design, sizing and any other issuefor their inability to manage this situation hasachieved nothing. I guess that was the idea, passthe parcel always was a great game to play.I want to know where does the buck stop?If I make a mistake on the street I am rightlyheld accountable for that decision. Who isaccountable in this situation? I don’t want ageneric policy or process answer, or an excusethat this is the biggest purchase. Who is goingto say sorry for all this?To date, I can recall three officers that havebeen injured (two in Auckland and the mostrecent event) as a direct consequence of thesedelays. I suspect more incidents exist but theyhave not reached that attention of the nationalmedia.Four years ago, I bought my own vest from theUSA. I filled out a simple measurement chartwith about 8-10 measurements. It cost $2500and it arrived in eight weeks, fits perfectlyand I have worn it every shift since then. It isamazing to me that a single customer receivedthat level of service from a manufacturer. Whatwould they do in order to obtain a 6,000 unitorder?I never had to be “fitted” by some specialist(which is one of the reasons for the delays).It either fits or it doesn’t. If all else fails, lookon the Intranet under Online Library/SSST/Defensive Tactics/SRBA...there’s a whole bookon SRBA. Just read it, follow the instructionsand off you go!To fellow staff members, I applaud yourwilling decision to go to work in the currentenvironment knowing full well the dangeryou are putting yourselves in. To theadministration, who rely on that willingnessknowing full well that staff are at risk, I don’tknow how you can look at yourself in themirror.Ryan Mitchell(Oamaru)Take their patches andnegate their powerAnyone who thinks that not banning thewearing of gang patches and colours is a goodidea obviously hasn’t read the very excellentbook “Angels of Death: Inside the Bikers’ GlobalCrime Empire” (pub. 2006) by WilliamMarsden and Julian Sher, nor their equallyexcellent“The Road to Hell: How the Biker Gangsare Conquering Canada” (pub. 2003.)In particular, Marsden and Sher note thathow, in the early 1990’s, representatives ofopposing gangs had a sit-down in Paris “…toprevent all-out war (amongst themselves) andto make a peaceful division of the continent.Both clubs wanted to avoid Police andgovernment countermeasures that could slowtheir expansion…”Marsden and Sher go on to state that “..inGermany, Hamburg officials had alreadyoutlawed the wearing of the Hells Angelspatch, grounding the club and renderingit practically invisible (emphasis mine). AnAngel without his patch was clipped. Thebikers wanted to forestall more of that kind oflegislation…”Part of the whole ethos of having a patch,having a colour, is to be able to wear it.Remove the opportunities to flaunt it and, inpart, some of the “power” of the gang, and ofthat individual, is removed.After all, if the gangs themselves don’t like notbeing able to wear their patches why shouldthe good folk in society do otherwise?Trevor W.A. Morley(Wellington)Gang patches - a casefor media censorshipI have mixed feelings about the banning ofgang regalia. However, if the media could bepersuaded to blank out the identifying logoswhen they report incidents, then this wouldhave the effect of not giving a particular gangany publicity. Afterall, it is quite noticeable,especially when there are cameras present, thatwe get displays of intimidating behaviour.By all means show the behaviour. But do notidentify the actor’s gang. Keep up the goodwork.Geoff Benge(Waikanae)June 2007117