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Salient. Victoria University of Wellington Students' Newspaper. Volume 31, Number 20. September 3, 1968

Fuzz

Fuzz

Photo of police officers standing at a protest

Why can't policemen make up their minds?

They look forward to demonstrations and then squeal when the helmets begin to roll.

In March of this year, when the Peace Power and Politics Conference was most subtly timed to coincide with the SEATO Conference, Parliament was floodlit and garrisoned with enthusiastic policemen. Nothing happened.

An enterprising Evening Post reporter wrote: 'A high-ranking police officer disclosed today that his men were secretly looking forward to a 'bit of action' and, in fact, had weathered an extremely dull week in anticipation of a 'workout' when the conference opened this morning. Needless to say there were 35 'brassed off' policemen when the ceremony went off without a single incident."

It was only three months later that the ruckus at Parliament triggered its hysterical tirade from the press. The genial men in blue whose reported 'anticipation of a workout" had gone almost unnoticed suddenly became "the embattled blue line" apparently dividing democracy from anarchy.

The barrage of charge and counter-charge that followed, and the willingness with which the public hailed the constabulary as martyrs to law and order in Godzone obscured the simple fact that police, as well as students, have a sneaking predilection for a minor dust-up every now and then, as the Post article in March had made clear.

Essentially, relations between the police and students are good. Activists on the left and the right will naturally deny this, but the bulk of students, whose mediocrity is equalled perhaps only by that of the police force itself, still sutler childhood illusions of the police as the friendly bobby on the heat.

The "We Love the Cops" demonstration on May 1st was organised as a capping stunt. It was probably in no way different from any other demonstration, but for once its real nature was not obscured by antiestablishment placards.

"The march was reasonably orderly." reported the Evening Post. "Students making every effort to avoid clashes with the police, and the police taking no action at all to break up the demonstration."

In general relations between students and the Fuzz are as predictable and harmless as those of Noddy and Mr Plod the Policeman.

But when the placards swing, the fists fly, and the television cameras begin to roll both police and students have to act to defend their self-styled images as implacable enemies.

After the opening of Parliament demo Chief-Superintendent J. W. Saunders said that there was a lot of pushing by both students and police "But there were some blows struck of which the police were the recipients." (Note extra-clear police-issue syntax.) Perhaps some light is thrown on this statement by a report a week earlier which related how the good Mr Saunders himself was in amongst the demonstrators. "His weight was there with the best of them—and he stopped a kick on his shins for his trouble."

It would seem that kicking shins. Chief-Superintendents for theuse of. is not a way to win friends in the police force. "When constabulary duty's to be done," wrote W. S. Gilbert.

"The Policeman's lot is not a happy on."

— T. Jaques