Push for safer community

Te Awamutu Community Board has enlisted the assistance of community constable Richard Hurrell to drive the formation of a Safer Community Council within the region.

The board believes the stance will be an effective and proactive means to providing a better and safer community in which to live, work and play.

Councillor, and board appointee, Hazel Barnes raised the possibility after attending a council workshop last year and the board asked Mr Hurrell to research the concept and make a presentation. Mr Hurrell presented that report at this week’s board meeting and said the response from those he had spoken to about the concept was positive.

He was able to confirm Te Awamutu Police senior sergeant Dave Simes was supportive and would give resources to make a Safer Community Council work. Mr Hurrell also found support from Te Awamutu Chamber of Commerce and Select Security.

The report identified a large number of wilful damage incidents which have been reported to police, the type of offending that can be successfully combated through such programmes as Safer Community Councils. It showed a huge financial cost, as well as indeterminable costs in terms of inconvenience, loss of business, feelings of victimisation and damage to the image of the community.

His research identified the Thames-Coromandel Safer Communities Trust as a successful model on which Te Awamutu could base itself. Mr Hurrell said that model was working well in a community of similar size to Te Awamutu.

To fast-track the process for Te Awamutu, a delegation of Community Board members plan to accompany Mr Hurrell on a visit to Thames to gather more information. A public meeting will then be called, where the Thames-Coromandel Community Safety Officer will be asked to be a guest speaker, and hopefully from that a working group will be formed to make submissions to Waipa District Council’s Long Term Council Community Plan so the project can be up and running this year.

Mr Hurrell says while the scope of activities for any Safer Community Council is set by each community, what Thames-Coromandel achieves is a good base for what would benefit Te Awamutu. Their programme includes a paid Safety Officer who works 30 hours per week, in a variety of educational and liaison roles.

One of the roles is District Neighbourhood Support co-ordinator.The safety officer has a community office and computer access provided by police and Thames-Coromandel District Council. The officer also has a work vehicle provided by the trust, which at night becomes the Night Owls transport.

Night Owls is an observational group which has radio links with police and security. They patrol recognised hot spots for a variety of unwanted behaviours, as well as keeping an eye on the elderly and generally staying vigilant as to the activities around their town.

Mr Hurrell also reported that a safer Community Council could be involved in Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). The concept is applied to each community of a needs basis, and aims to prevent crime by safer design.

Mr Hurrell says to be effective the project needs support from police and council, an effective media strategy and community awareness. He said the basic concept is that people have to take ownership of their town.