New technology for police makes crooks feel unsafe
Steve Bullock is the area commander for the Taupo police, which encompasses Taupo, Turangi, Tokoroa, Putaruru and Mangakino police stations and areas. Every month Steve will give South Waikato News readers updates on what is happening in the district. NO
What a crazy last few months we have had, topped off by the State Highway 1 incident involving a woman being dragged behind a car. We have had fatal crashes, violence and now a number of suspicious fires. A very busy time for us all and at a time where we, as in all police offices, have been given iPads and iPhones. Wow, these things are great, even for a dinosaur like me. I will be honest in saying that I am more comfortable with a hammer, a chisel and a tablet of rock than one of these things but they say to do something every day that frightens you, for me it will be using technology.
No seriously, the introduction of technology to police as part of the national mobility project is a fantastic leap forward in terms of service delivery to our communities and the safety of our staff. Officers can now access information and complete correspondence at the roadside, or anywhere rather than having to return to the station. This means they will be in our communities for longer ensuring we feel and are safe, and crooks are unsafe – that has to be a good thing.
While I am on about good things I have to talk about how proud it was to see both the Tokoroa and Putaruru communities standing up against synthetic cannabinoids such as Kronic, K2 etc.
History is filled with quotes from great leaders and many of them relate to this very scenario. While Senior Sergeant Graeme Hill is not yet resigned to history I know that he refers to a quote that says something along the lines of crime not being able to survive when good men and woman stand up against it.
Seeing our people waving placards and being vocal outside dairies still selling those poisons was awesome, the message was very clear that we have had enough. While the government can legislate against ‘‘dairy dak’’ and rely on us to police it, in terms of prevention it is exactly this kind of pressure that stops the activity.
The other thing that has been on my mind this month has been winter sport; more importantly spectator and player behaviour on and off the field or court. While the whole drink driving message is so entrenched, we still have idiots who put themselves and their friends in serious danger after the game. If you see these clowns stand up and speak up, if that doesn’t work call us. Life is too short. The other danger with sport is in losing our cool. We have all had that ‘oh ref’ moment, or the desire to right some perceived wrong, but unfortunately there are those who take things too far, losing their cool, embarrassing themselves and resorting to violence. Play hard, play fair but most of all respect each other and the game.
Until next month be safe, feel safe and play safe.