Community patrollers keen to recruit volunteers to help police
They walk the empty streets at night when the rest of us are tucked up in bed. Hamilton’s community patrollers do good work, say police.
North Hamilton Community Patrollers work hard to keep the streets of Hamilton safe but need more volunteers and support to continue to make a difference.
The group formed in 2003 and now has about 20 members who patrol two to three nights a week.
While many patrols are uneventful, the community patrollers have helped the police in catching offenders.
Recently patrollers Matt and Sam – who did not want their surnames published – found themselves in this situation when they witnessed two youths attempting to break into a Te Rapa bakery.
“We saw a couple of these rough looking characters by the lunch bar so we circled the block and watched from a distance,” said Matt.
The patrollers watched as one of the youths tried to open the door with bolt cutters, as the other youth acted as lookout. At this point the community patrollers contacted the police and followed the youths until they were apprehended.
Matt and Sam both enjoy the job and want to make a difference in the community and cut down crime.
Sam, who came to New Zealand in 2000 said, “this is a way for me to give back and help support the community.”
Lyall Duffus, Operations Coordinator for North Hamilton Community Patrol, sees the positive effects of the group but admits the pressure of fundraising and attracting volunteers can be hard.
“The group does a huge amount of work in fundraising to keep going,” he said.
Hamilton city deployment manager, Inspector Karen Henrikson has expressed her appreciation for the group.
“If it wasn’t for their vigilance these two would have got away with it and continued offending. This shows the value of having our community patrollers out and about and working closely with police,” she said.
For more information on the North Hamilton Community Patrol contact the Flagstaff police station or visit their website www.nhcp.org.nz
