Royal Commission report day 14 page 15
The Royal Commission evidence for 3/5/1881
(see also introduction to day 14)
Inspector Montfort giving evidence
3323 Is it the custom to be accommodated with house room at the barracks, or are they permitted to occupy private rooms?— The rule is laid down in the regulations; the Government is not obliged to provide barracks, but if there are quarters available they are allowed to occupy them, provided they keep them in repair until they are required. You will find it under the head of “Buildings.”
3324 What proportion of the constables at present in the police service are accommodated by a selection of their own?— I could not form an idea.
3325 In country districts they have their quarters in the police barracks?— No, not all the married men; they have at Benalla.
3326 That is the officers' quarters—I mean the out-stations; do they reside at the barracks?— At some places—Wangaratta, for instance.
3327 Assuming they were all provided with barrack accommodation, if the system were adopted of locating the men for a given period at one station, would the efficiency of the service be increased?— As a rule, yes; but there are exceptions, for I have known men to be stationed a long time in stations that were just as efficient the day they left as in the beginning of their career, but then they are few and far between; and of course, the man that does his duty zealously, the longer he is there the better, because he knows the whereabouts of people.
3328 As an inspector, you could tell at the places you visited every month whether the officer in charge was really discharging his duties?— No, not necessarily. You might go to a station; you could not see it on the surface; you might get information about it.
3329 Do you place yourself in a position to get that information. As a rule, has not an inspector got sufficient judgment to lead him to the conclusion as to whether the place he visits is properly conducted. You visited Glenmore, for instance; were you not able to form a pretty correct opinion as to whether the police had done their duty since the visit before?— I understand what you mean; but it is a wide question, and the duties of the constable are so varied, and further, you must judge of his efficiency a good deal by results, and those results will not appear in the books except the crime book.
3330 You can judge if his arms and accoutrements are in good order?— Yes.
3331 But can you judge whether he has taken a liking to one lot of men and a disliking to another?— Certainly not.
3332 Or whether be has discharged his duties faithfully?— I cannot. The first point is to see that the forage is correct according to his books, and that the Government property placed in his charge is in proper order, that his horse is properly groomed and looked after properly, and that his books are properly kept, and written up to date. The crime book will afford au indication of the number of offences reported to him. The occurrence book will show when he goes out and in, where he went to and generally what he did, but beyond that it is impossible to say.
3333 Then when a constable is placed in charge of a district, what means have you as an inspector of ascertaining whether the constable is performing his duties as he ought, beyond the observations of the stores and books and so on?— By information received, for one thing.
3334 From the people of the district?— People I knew—a man I would know intimately, he would tell me in a minute if he knew that so and so was going wrong. Of course a man's personal appearance when I go to the station would be a very good indication of what he was doing
3335 Who would be responsible for the proper management of the police in the outlying districts?— The superintendent in charge of the district.
3336 And you would be in a position to ascertain from his report whether to retain or remove a man?— Decidedly.
3337 If an officer of police were placed at one of those out-stations, and he had obtained one or two thousand acres of land, that would not prevent his being there if he did his duty?— No, decidedly not.
3338 You stated just now that you would examine the occurrence book and the crime book?— Yes.
3339 If there was frequent crime in the district undetected and the offenders not made amenable to justice, would you not know that the man stationed there was more than likely inefficient?— Not necessarily.
3340 Would the book show the action the constable took on that information?— It would only show he had made enquires, in a general way, it would not give the details. For instance, two men might come over from New South Wales and go to Moyhu, and steal horses there, and successfully pilot them across into New South Wales , and it would be a difficult thing to make the police officer responsible for that. It does not necessarily follow that the thieves live in the district.....
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