ON THE BEAT January'10

courtesy Eastern Courier and Howick Police

20-Jan-10

As part of my role as the Highland Park community constable I deliver talks to various groups in our community.

Most people want me to speak about safety and how to reduce the chances of becoming a victim of crime.

On many of these occasions I get on to the topic of suspicious persons and a number of people are confused about whether or not a person is acting suspiciously and what to look out for.

Generally, anything that seems even slightly out of the ordinary for your area or for the time of day may signal criminal activity.

Some of the most obvious things to watch for and report include:

-	A stranger entering your neighbour's home or property when they are not home
-	Offers of merchandise at ridiculously low prices could mean stolen property
-	A person removing car parts, licence plates or petrol is considered suspicious
-	The sound of breaking glass or other loud, explosive noises could mean an accident, break-in, or vandalism
-	A person looking into parked cars may be searching for a vehicle to steal or for valuables left in plain view inside
-	People claiming to be representatives of utilities (gas, phone, water, electric, cable, tree cutters) but who are not in uniform or have no company identification may be burglars
-	A vehicle driving slowly up the road looking into driveways may be burglars scoping out their next job
-	A person on your property and you don't know who they are

 

If you are looking at any of the above then you should dial 111. Please don't ring me or my colleagues and leave a message on our answering service ( as people often have) because by the time we get the message it is often too late.

Please do not be afraid to call the police. As I continue to tell the public it is our job to be nosey. It is better for us to speak to the person and find out it is nothing rather than that person committing a burglary.

Remember anybody wishing to set up a Neighbourhood Support group can take a look at www.nsupport.co.nz or give me a call at the Howick police station on 538-0300.

Keep safe

Constable Merv Hotter, Highland Park Community Constable

13-Jan-10

Police are striving to make roads as safe as possible throughout 2010 and one of the ways in which they are striving to achieve this is by improving the behaviour of roadusers.

We have already made a lot of progress in this regard and continue to make progress through education, by enforcing safety standards and holding irresponsible roadusers to account.

Education shows people how to use the roads safely and tries to persuade them to change unsafe habits, while effective enforcement and appropriate penalties help deter people from potentially dangerous behaviour.

Some priorities for police during 2010 will be to:
- Achieve a reduction of excess speed
- Combat drink-driving
- Deal with serious offenders
- Encourage the use of safety belts Improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists
- Continue co-operation with councils and other relevant authorities by giving the necessary input to assist with the engineering of safer roads
- Engage in new and better-targeted education initiatives
- Enhance road safety partner co-ordination.

Police are asking everybody to partner with police in ensuring safe driving habits during 2010 and to make it a truly happy, safe and prosperous year.

Sergeant Lyon Dunn, Strategic traffic unit