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The dedicated members of a local community crime-prevention group have upgraded their tired and worn-out patrol vehicle for a new set of wheels.
The Howick and Pakuranga Community Patrol (HPCP) recently acquired a 2024 MG ZS.
It’s powered by a 1.5-litre petrol engine and equipped with the technology of a brand-new vehicle.
The group’s previous patrol vehicle, a Nissan Qashqai, had travelled more than 200,000km and needed to be replaced.
It’s been donated to a patrol group in South Auckland.
HPCP chairperson Garry Shearer says the new patrol vehicle cost the group about $23,000.
“The funding came from Pub Charity. There’s about five patrol groups in the Counties Manukau district that belong to a Trust.
“They get funding from the council and they put in about $10,000.
“Also, we got funding for the light bar [on the vehicle’s roof] and we chipped in some money ourselves from our own funds.”
Shearer says the MG is “a lot more modern and reliable” than the group’s old Nissan.
“We have two cars. The Howick Police station is locked up at night so one car is kept at a member’s house so the night patrollers can access it easily.
“The two cars get used equally. This nice white patrol car at a glance looks like a police car, so any offenders get a bit nervous when they see it.”
Member Godfrey Huckle says the group’s patrollers go to places the police often don’t, such as local side roads.
“The police haven’t got time to patrol every corner, so we do all the side roads, and we often find old wrecks of cars, or damaged or stolen cars.”
Howick Police community services supervisor, sergeant Brett Meale, says the patrol group is an “extra set of eyes and ears for the police, helping to prevent crime in the area”.
“The best thing is they provide reassurance to people in the community just by seeing them in the area.
“I hear it all the time. People love seeing the community patrol going around the streets.”
Shearer says the group is always seeking new patrollers.
“We’ve got about 45 active members, but we do three shifts.
“We do morning, afternoon, and night patrols, five to six days a week.
“We struggle to get people who want to do weekends and we’re also fairly low on night patrols. A lot of our patrollers are retired people.
“We’re getting a lot of members who are a bit younger. We’re trying to attract Asian members to the patrol and we’re getting quite a bit of success.”
Patrollers must be over 18 years of age and have no criminal record.
“We’ve got a training programme they go through and online training,” Shearer says.
“We give them training patrols and take them out three times until they feel comfortable.”
People interested in joining the group can go online to www.hpcp.org.nz or email membership@hpcp.org.nz.
