Be alert, not alarmed

Police have moved to calm fears a serial predator has been stalking children in Wellington’s northwestern suburbs. The latest incident was reported to police last Monday after a man approached a 12-year-old girl on Parkvale Rd in Karori around 6.30pm. In late May, a 10-year-old boy reported being approached by a man offering him lollies near the walkway to Ben Burn Park in Karori. When the man tried to grab the boy, the boy ran away. In February, police notified schools they had received several reports of incidents of children being approached in the western suburbs over the previous week. An arrest was later made in relation to one of the incidents. One commenter on Neighbourly said ‘‘repeated, vague reports’’ from police about the string of incidents was ‘‘quite alarming’’. Inspector Wade Jennings said police were not aware of a recurring issue with children being approached. ‘‘While there have been a small amount of incidents this year, it does not appear that they are linked and each incident has been investigated thoroughly. Police take these incidents very seriously. We understand that these types of incidents can cause a great deal of concern for parents, but our message to the community is to be alert, not alarmed.’’ Incidents like this were a timely reminder for families to have discussions around behaviours and actions that are inappropriate or that make a child feel uncomfortable, rather than concentrating on the types of people that could harm them, Jennings said.