NZ Police public image

[drummer]

I think you will find that this is a typical media beatup.

Another article i read stated that the guys (who had called 111) Wife then took the phone and stated that Police weren't required.

I dunno if you quite know the area but depending on where this remote Northland farm was it could easily have taken the cop 6 hours to drive there and another 6 to drive back. All to attend a 111 call where the callers have told Police they didn't want them to attend.

Imo he did the right thing, asking a neighboor who lived close if he could just check on them to make sure everything was definately ok.

So... how did they know the woman was the "wife"... and six hours??? Come on... sounds as though you are defending the complete failure of an essentual service!

[drummer]

And then something happens in Dargaville like an actual home invasion or serious domestic and the Police yet again get blamed by dipshits because they didn't turn up as they were chasing up a bullshit 111 call out in the boonies.

So they are understaffed... but this is just insane to be judging a 111 call as being nonserious!

[Indoo]

So... how did they know the woman was the "wife"... and six hours??? Come on... sounds as though you are defending the complete failure of an essentual service!

Its where i used to live and ive been out with a few of the local cops, so i do actually have a clue as to the realities of rural policing. Unfortunately you need to realise that it isn't Auckland, its completely different.

The fact is that a significant proportion of 111 call are either false or do not require Police attention. If Police were to attend every single call regardless of merit we would need around 20,000 more cops. If there was a real emergency (which is extremely unlikely) what goods a cop gonna to do turning up hours later when theres neighbours mere minutes away in a much better position to help.

The real irony of this is that the same people bitching about cops in this instance were the same people complaining about that incident on the farm when the 111 operator kept the farmers wife on the phone preventing her from calling neighbours for help.

What a joke.

[drummer]

Its where i used to live and ive been out with a few of the local cops, so i do actually have a clue as to the realities of rural policing. Unfortunately you need to realise that it isn't Auckland, its completely different.

The fact is that a significant proportion of 111 call are either false or do not require Police attention. If Police were to attend every single call regardless of merit we would need around 20,000 more cops. If there was a real emergency (which is extremely unlikely) what goods a cop gonna to do turning up hours later when theres neighbours mere minutes away in a much better position to help.

The real irony of this is that the same people bitching about cops in this instance were the same people complaining about that incident on the farm when the 111 operator kept the farmers wife on the phone preventing her from calling neighbours for help.

What a joke.

sorry... that doesn't wash with me.... what right do you or anyone else have to judge what is serious or not... if we need 20000 more cops then so be it... but somehow I believe you figures are wrong. Face it... the police are letting themselves down badly!

[Indoo]

sorry... that doesn't wash with me.... what right do you or anyone else have to judge what is serious or not... if we need 20000 more cops then so be it... but somehow I believe you figures are wrong. Face it... the police are letting themselves down badly!

Are you really suggesting that everyone time someone calls 111 wanting Police to attend cos there 9 year old kid swore at them? (and yes that does happen)

I believe you need to get a reality check, its people like you who do nothing but whine and whinge about things they know absolutely nothing about that are the problem.

Go spend a few shifts with your local cop and come back and tell me exactly how they are letting you down. I can guarantee you would'nt wanna do the job so why blanket insult those who do ?

[Ixion]

Have to say that I think the cops did the right thing there.

Happened all the time when I was young. Somebody would report [something not too serious sounding] at [distant location]. Copper would ring a trusted local "Mate, had a report of [noises, someone hanging around whatever, old Mrs Smith not been seen since Monday] at [place] , could you just nip down and have a shufti, tell me if I need to come out"

Local pops down , has a look around and reports back accordingly. Many a futile wasted trip prevented.

It's a sensible thing to do in the countryside. Genuine community policing I'd call it. I just don't understand why the local is complaining.

[drummer]

Are you really suggesting that everyone time someone calls 111 wanting Police to attend cos there 9 year old kid swore at them? (and yes that does happen)

I believe you need to get a reality check, its people like you who do nothing but whine and whinge about things they know absolutely nothing about that are the problem.

Go spend a few shifts with your local cop and come back and tell me exactly how they are letting you down. I can guarantee you would'nt wanna do the job so why blanket insult those who do ?

Dear me.... how do you know its a five year old kid...???? Are you suggesting that cops make judgement calls on what constitutes a "real" emergency? Are you for one moment suggesting that the 111 system is working well? I hope not... otherwise you obviously have no bleeding idea of what is reality and what is not. NO-ONE absolutely no-one of sound mind would even hint that the 111 system is fine and well in Unzud.... I hear what you are saying about lack of cops... but don't defend a force that is by all standards well below what the public expects of them. Ask anyone here who isn't a Cop wheather the police are tackling crime they way they should... wheather the Police answer emergency calls fast.... They do NOT! What about Manukau City... 4 child rape cases not being investigated... thats sick by any standards. I understand your frustration... but only if you are actively trying to change the situation you are complaining of... I am....

Thats all for today folks!

[drummer]

Have to say that I think the cops did the right thing there.

Happened all the time when I was young. Somebody would report [something not too serious sounding] at [distant location]. Copper would ring a trusted local "Mate, had a report of [noises, someone hanging around whatever, old Mrs Smith not been seen since Monday] at [place] , could you just nip down and have a shufti, tell me if I need to come out"

Local pops down , has a look around and reports back accordingly. Many a futile wasted trip prevented.

It's a sensible thing to do in the countryside. Genuine community policing I'd call it. I just don't understand why the local is complaining.

It maybe ok in thwe circumstances you mention but what about a real; crisis... a member of the public could be in real trouble and the person asked to go down could be for it as well. The Cops are there to do their job... full stop... currently as a result of bad Government they do not have the resourses to do that job. Therefore... bye bye Klarke!

[Indoo]

Dear me.... how do you know its a five year old kid...???? Are you suggesting that cops make judgement calls on what constitutes a "real" emergency?

Yes its often quite obvious what calls require Police attendance and what calls require the local mental health people.

I understand your frustration... but only if you are actively trying to change the situation you are complaining of... I am....

Not to bag you if you really are doing something, but what exactly are you doing? All im seeing is you slagging off all cops on an internet message board based on what you read in tacky papers without having anything constructive or informative to say?

[Ixion]

It maybe ok in thwe circumstances you mention but what about a real; crisis... a member of the public could be in real trouble and the person asked to go down could be for it as well. The Cops are there to do their job... full stop... currently as a result of bad Government they do not have the resourses to do that job. Therefore... bye bye Klarke!

Well, I have always argued that coppers are people who should be able to exercise sensible judgement and discretion, and be allowed to use it (and cut a bit of slack if, in hindsight, they doin't always make the call 100% right) . That's when the local cop makes the call. If it sounds like anything nasty , then of course he goes. Doubt that any of them would argue. In this case, local cop made the call that it wasn't nasty and he probably didn't need to go - but just check anyway.

That seems to me to be the sort of judgement call I'd expect from a good copper.

[Ixion]

Dear me.... how do you know its a five year old kid...???? Are you suggesting that cops make judgement calls on what constitutes a "real" emergency? Are you for one moment suggesting that the 111 system is working well? I hope not... otherwise you obviously have no bleeding idea of what is reality and what is not. NO-ONE absolutely no-one of sound mind would even hint that the 111 system is fine and well in Unzud.... I hear what you are saying about lack of cops... but don't defend a force that is by all standards well below what the public expects of them. Ask anyone here who isn't a Cop wheather the police are tackling crime they way they should... wheather the Police answer emergency calls fast.... They do NOT! What about Manukau City... 4 child rape cases not being investigated... thats sick by any standards. I understand your frustration... but only if you are actively trying to change the situation you are complaining of... I am....

Thats all for today folks!

Well, I'm inclined to agree with you about the police failing to tackle serious crime hard enough. But partly that's because too much of their resource is spent on chasing after non-serious matters (or even non-crime matters). So here's an example of a cop doing a sensible thing, not wasting his time on something that was very unlikely to need his attention. So he can spend that time on serious crime. I wish more police did that.

And I have a stack of correspondance with the Minister, the Commissioner and Area Commanders that says I am trying to do something about it. If you want to improve the problem, that's where it needs to be tackled.

[jimbo600]

Dear me.... how do you know its a five year old kid...???? Are you suggesting that cops make judgement calls on what constitutes a "real" emergency? Are you for one moment suggesting that the 111 system is working well? I hope not... otherwise you obviously have no bleeding idea of what is reality and what is not. NO-ONE absolutely no-one of sound mind would even hint that the 111 system is fine and well in Unzud.... I hear what you are saying about lack of cops... but don't defend a force that is by all standards well below what the public expects of them. Ask anyone here who isn't a Cop wheather the police are tackling crime they way they should... wheather the Police answer emergency calls fast.... They do NOT! What about Manukau City... 4 child rape cases not being investigated... thats sick by any standards. I understand your frustration... but only if you are actively trying to change the situation you are complaining of... I am....

Thats all for today folks!

I think I'll chirp in my 2cents. NZ has the worst police/population ratios in the developed world. Overall they re owed 700 years in TOIL. They are overworked, understaffed and underresourced and this is now being manifested in poor service and standards. The individuals themselves do a remarkable job given the resources allocated. We desperately need a change in governmental attitude towards policing for things to change. The latest email drama is a piss in the eyes for the folk employed in the force and damaging to an already fickle morale.

[RDJ]

Well, I have always argued that coppers are people who should be able to exercise sensible judgement and discretion, and be allowed to use it (and cut a bit of slack if, in hindsight, they doin't always make the call 100% right) . That's when the local cop makes the call. If it sounds like anything nasty , then of course he goes. Doubt that any of them would argue. In this case, local cop made the call that it wasn't nasty and he probably didn't need to go - but just check anyway.

That seems to me to be the sort of judgement call I'd expect from a good copper.

Well put and fair comment. Can we split the difference on the argument in the sense that if this was an isolated incident and not more of a pattern it would be OK... as it is, it indicates IMO that the police on the front line are too few to do the job they would like to do and many of us would like them to be able to do...

[inlinefour]

You mean Herr Dictator... the right unhonourable misery guts ugly Klarke, socialist wonder of Unzud,..... well now... I reckon that's the Don who's leader of that organisation you mention but I am in the frontline!

Just my opinion and all, but. The way you carry on drummer with your nazi rants, I reckon your an even bigger pillick as Helen C.
Its easy to say things are not great and we need to do this and that, but you provide no details how, just like Don, point the finger and complain., but don't actually come up with ANY good solutions...

[inlinefour]

Yes, I did read the full article (snipped some to save space) and I left out the response from the wife.

My answer is - how would we know unless the police attended whether a home invader was holding a gun or knife to wife or child to get her to say that?

As for distance - sorry, that doesn't cut it for me. If there is an emergency and you have to drive minutes or hours to get there and back that's what you do. In my last job I had to do the same. It's not whether we like it or not, it's just got to be done.

If the neighbour had found an invader and either was killed himself or killed the invader - police management would then inevitably say either "you have no right to take unnecessary risks" or "you have no right to act as a policeman".

My 2c, YMMV.

The Police should attend everything? No matter how big or small? Kind of like saying an Ambulance should attend every accident even if its just a 5 year old kid who has just graised his knee.