Meeting called to tackle vandalism

A community meeting is being called in Pātea because of ‘‘ongoing issues of threatening behaviour and damage to property’’.

About 20 people turned out to the Pātea Community Board’s January meeting with concerns about vandalism occurring in the town, chair Jacq Dwyer said.

Glass doors at the town’s Four Square had been smashed twice, and windows had also been broken on a grandstand at the town’s rugby club.

In a separate incident, the windows of the town’s old post office building were smashed in November.

‘‘We are despairing about kids being out at night doing these destructive things,’’ she said.

‘‘It’s not that we want to come down on them, we want to help them find a better way of living, have some pride in our town,’’ she said.

‘‘When you get people together round a table, that’s when ideas come up.’’

South Taranaki mayor Phil Nixon, who was at the board meeting, will lead a public meeting on January 15 to bring together the police, kaumatua, affected parties and anyone else who is interested to discuss the ‘‘ongoing issues in Pātea of threatening behaviour and damage to private property’’.

‘‘A lot of things are happening that people are concerned about.’’ Phil Nixon South Taranaki mayor

Nixon said the Four Square owner had been verbally abused and there had also been incidents of thefts occurring around the town. ‘‘A lot of things are happening that people are concerned about. We just want to get to the bottom of it.’’

The meeting will be on February 15 at 4.30pm, at the Hunter Shaw Building in Pātea.

It will be attended by Pātea’s two police officers, and senior sergeant Andrew Russ, the acting officer in charge at Hāwera police station.

Police were working through the youth aid process with some youngsters in relation to the vandalism incidents, Russ said.

’’It needs the community and police to work together to try and find resolution, and we need every incident reported to us.

‘‘All it takes in a small community is for a person or a group to have a bit of a spree, and in a small community it can really stand out, make things feel as if there’s a whole lot more going on.’’