Wheels for community patrol

COMMUNITY Constable, Richard Hurrell accepts the keys to the former meter reading car from TrustPower community relations manager, Graeme Purches, watched by Hazel Barnes (Te Awamutu councillor), Acting Senior Sergeant Gael Mockford, Waipa Mayor Alan Livingston and TrustPower community services representative, Nic Harris. 283061AD

A former meter reading car has been provided by TrustPower to serve as a community patrol vehicle in Te Awamutu area.

Community relations manager Graeme Purches and community services representative Nic Harris handed over the Daihatsu Terios to Te Awamutu Community Constable, Richard Hurrell and community representatives last week.

Mr Purches says it is a Trust-Power policy to provide use of their replaced vehicles to benefit community projects.

Mr Hurrell had mentioned to Mr Purches at TrustPower Community Awards that a concerted effort was being made to get a community crime reduction initiative going - under the Safer Community Councils programme.

“(Waipa Mayor) Alan Livingston had also spoken to me about the initiative,” Mr Purches says. “I thought it seemed like a really worthwhile thing for the community to do. And when three of our meter reading cars came up for renewal, we picked the best one for Te Awamutu. We put new tyres on it and serviced it. We’ll pay the registration each year and the community group will cover running costs.”

Te Awamutu councillor, Hazel Barnes has been working closely with the community group and with a Kihikihi group looking at ways to reduce crime in their village.

“It is a tremendous partnership with Waipa District Council and the community working closely with the police, which will be of real benefit to the community,” Mrs Barnes says.

The Daihatsu Terios should be a familiar sight on our streets in any event - it has spent most of its working life on the meter reading rounds in the Te Awamutu area.

The generous donation of use of the vehicle by TrustPower should provide impetus to the Safer Community Council proposal. It will also be useful in promoting community policing initiatives, including community patrols in Te Awamutu, Kihikihi and Pirongia.