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 first column from Sergeant Brett Meale of Howick Police.
A big thanks to Bo, Chris, and the team for your ongoing support of the local Community Police, who operate from the Howick Station, and also for the opportunity to engage on a regular basis with the issues affecting our communities.
The Community Constables here cover Flat Bush, Pakuranga, Botany, Bucklands Beach and Howick.
For some time now, we’ve seen an increase in the theft of number plates from vehicles parked in our streets.
These thefts often occur during the hours of darkness, and the stolen number plates invariably end up on other vehicles, which are then used to commit further criminal offending.
Howick Police, working together with the Howick Pakuranga Community Patrol, have been promoting the “Safer Plates” initiative for some years now, whereby the standard number plate screws are replaced with tamper-proof screws.
While there’s no 100 per cent guarantee, the installation of tamper-proof screws greatly reduces the chances of you becoming a victim of this offending and having to deal with the admin required to resolve the issues around your number plates being used in other offending.
Over the years, “Safer Plates” events have been organised through various community partners, whereby the Community Patrollers and Police staff have changed the screws on many local residents’ vehicles, for a small donation to the Community Patrol.
In response to the many enquiries recently, from members of the public as to where they can have the tamper-proof screws installed, we’ve arranged for this service to be available at the Howick Police Station carpark at 76 Cook Street, Howick on Mondays and Thursdays between 8am and 4pm.
A donation of $5 to the Howick Pakuranga Community Patrol will be sought to cover the costs of the screws, which they supply for this service.
These are the same hours that our station public counter is open for general enquiries and reports.
Outside of these hours, should you need to report an historic matter or update a previous complaint, please do so online at www.105.police.govt.nz or alternatively phone 105. For all emergencies, please ensure you phone 111.
