People look for solutions to fight crime
At the foot of Mt Aroha sits a tight knit community fed up with crime in their town.
Community members turned out in force at a public meeting at Mountain View Church, organised by residents keen to hear some proactive solutions to escalating crime.
It included most recently, the deliberate attack of homeless man Graham Jackson’s van while he slept at the back of Te Aroha Library.
People came armed with ideas including supporting Te Aroha Community Patrol by signing up as volunteers, having CCTV cameras installed and supporting local police, who they believed were under-resourced.
The gathering, which drew over 150 people, got off to a tense start however when MatamataPiako district councillor Ash Tanner reported on a meeting with mayor Jan Barnes and Police District Commander Bruce Bird.
It was suggested the best thing for people to do when they become victims of a crime was to ring 111.
It was met with bursts of laughter from the crowd, clearly angry and frustrated by what was perceived as a lack of police presence in Te Aroha.
Sergeant Vic Sneddon explained how rural policing had been centralised.
Since police numbers were dropped and the station was closed in Te Aroha because of safety concerns for volunteers, there was a perception public access to the police was limited.
Rural stations had a lack of resources and those decisions were made at government level, Sneddon said.
Resident Ian Parsons, a former police officer in the UK, said in order to have confidence in the police, they needed to be seen.
MP for Coromandel Scott Simpson began by attacking the new government’s stance on crime and its decision to ditch the Three Strikes policy.
‘‘This is about Te Aroha, we don’t want to hear about your politics,’’ people yelled.
The anger directed at police, Simpson and district councillors, was driven by a real fear in the escalation of more violent crime.
Organiser John Watson reminded the people in attendance that the meeting was called to come up with solutions, not point fingers and play the blame game.
Te Aroha Business Association Shaun O’Neill said following on from the introduction of free wi-fi in Te Aroha’s CBD, the option of installing CCTV camera was a reality.
Simpson was asked to talk to the new Minister of Police, Stuart Nash.