The Times is partnering with our local police to give them a platform to share important messages with our readers around crime-prevention and community safety. Below is the latest column from Sergeant Brett Meale of Howick Police.
We’re fortunate in Counties Manukau East to have both the Howick Pakuranga Community Patrol and the Botany Community Patrol regularly patrolling our streets, as an extra set of eyes and ears for the police.
These volunteers patrol in pairs, both during the day and at night, reporting any incidents or concerns they may come across to police and Auckland Council.
Throughout the year, both groups also support police with Safer Plates events, where tamper-proof screws are installed to prevent the theft of number plates.
We are also well served by the Howick and Botany Neighbourhood Support Group.
This group is run by enthusiastic volunteers who work closely with police and other organisations to reduce crime, improve safety, and prepare neighbourhoods to deal with emergencies and natural disasters.
They are also your point of contact if you would like to get a Neighbourhood Support group started in your street or join an existing group.
All these groups at the local level are administered and staffed by volunteers who do what they do because they want our community and neighbourhoods to be safe.
If you are interested in volunteering some of your time to any of these groups, I would encourage you to visit their national websites; www.cpnz.org.nz or www.neighbourhoodsupport.co.nz or contact myself at the Howick Police station.
Regarding Safer Plates, a quick reminder you can have tamper-proof screws installed at the Howick Police station carpark at 76 Cook Street, Howick, on Mondays and Thursdays between 8am and 4pm.
A donation of $5 to Howick Pakuranga Community Patrol will be sought to cover the costs of the screws they supply for this service.
These are the same hours our station public counter is open for general enquiries and reports.
