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A police officer was suspended for forwarding to collegues an email poking fun at the police.
The named Wanganui officer was stood down for two days after he forwarded the email of a mock 1970s children's book, which takes the innocent tone of the genre and updates the text with modern themes - sex changes, terrorism, homosexuality, and infidelity, The Dominion Post reported.
"A policeman must always have his truncheon and notebook with him. The truncheon is used to hit a suspect if they resist arrest. Then their confession is written in the notebook," it says.
Police said the matter concerned the officer's use of the computer network to distribute material, not just the content of the email.
Police Association spokesman Luke Shadbolt said the book was a spoof and he did not know what was objectionable about it. "Most policemen found it funny."
Police computer use came under the spotlight in 2005 when more than 5000 sexually explicit images were found on the computers of 327 staff.
- NZPA
