Marlborough Express - Weekend Express
Police team up for big clean up
Marlborough police are taking a literal approach to cleaning up crime.
They will be teaming up with volunteers to makeover a residential street.
Their efforts are part of the annual street clean-up, which is scheduled to start on Thursday, with the hopes of building links between neighbours, police and community groups.
Marlborough police community Constable Russ Smith says the project helps to reinvigorate both the people and the area.
‘‘There is a visible change. While that’s nice and aesthetic, the net result we look for is a street where residents are more content and connected,’’ he says.
‘‘It’s a really good little project. It does work, so we keep doing it.’’
The project has run since 2008 and streets are selected based on their socio-economic standing and the type of crime reported in the area.
The clean-up gives both police and community organisations a good opportunity to connect with people in the town, Russ says.
‘‘It almost gives us an instant rapport with people,’’ he says. ‘‘It’s more than just a clean-up.’’
From gathering green waste and trimming bushes to carting away rubbish and doing repairs, volunteers will tackle almost any clean-up job, Russ says.
‘‘We do find it a wee bit difficult to fell 40-metre trees, but there’s really nothing we won’t do,’’ he says.
More than 100 volunteers turned out to clean up Rata Pl, in Blenheim, last year. Similar numbers are hoped when helpers focus their efforts on Lucas St.
The clean-ups can lead to serious crime being uncovered.
The initiative at Elizabeth St in 2011 resulted in a major drugs bust after residents told police about drug dealing neighbourhood.
Restorative justice facilitator Paul Johnson co-organises the annual event.
He says it is exciting to return to Lucas St, where the first street clean-up was held in 2008. in the