Need a gardener? Just call the cops
It was a call for help, and police responded: with a lawnmower and gardening gloves.
Three community constables spent 90 minutes gardening at a Christchurch property after the panicking householder asked them for help.
The solo mother-of-five sons, who asked not to be named, lives in the suburb of Aranui. She asked police to come and deal to the knee-high grass on Friday, the day before her son’s 21st birthday party.
Enter the three officers from the Aranui Neighbourhood Policing Team, which was set up to build relationships with the area’s most vulnerable residents.
They helped her tidy her lawns and gardens. One of the constables took her own lawnmower and petrol.
The officers spent about 90 minutes at the property, weeding and mowing.
‘‘It’s about building con- nections and getting our hands dirty and pitching in,’’ Senior Sergeant Toni Carroll, who supervises Christchurch’s NPT teams, said.
The householder said she met with police earlier this year after one of her young sons had a brush with the law.
An officer offered to help maintain her Housing New Zealand (HNZ) property, which has a backyard so big it ‘‘looks like a football field’’.
‘‘She said to me one day, if I needed a hand with the yard just to ask her,’’ the woman said.
‘‘I went into panic mode on Friday and I rang her up and asked her if she could please come and mow the lawn – and she turned up.’’
‘‘A female can’t keep that maintained, she needs to ask for help . . . I look past the uniform, she’s just a nice lady.’’
A police spokeswoman said the householder was going through a ‘‘rough patch’’ and the gardening work fit the NPT’s purpose.
‘‘This involves reaching out and encouraging members of our community to contact police at any time.’’
The neighbourhood policing concept was introduced in Riccarton and Phillipstown in October
2011. The Riccarton team was redeployed to Aranui in October
2016. Neighbourhood policing team officers helped at schools, spending time and playing games with pupils, and worked with community agencies to foster relationships.
One of the woman’s neighbours, who previously complained to HNZ about noise and parties at the property, questioned why the police helped.
Carroll explained police were not working only to arrest people.
‘‘We can’t arrest our way out of a bad situation, we give [people] the tools to help themselves,’’ she said.
A police spokeswoman added: ‘‘One of the young men at the address had never shaken a police officer’s hand before, however after he saw the police helping out, he did so and thanked them when they left.’’
The spokeswoman said all three constables took separate vehicles to ensure they could get to other appointments afterwards.
HNZ area manager Fraser Benson said tenants were usually responsible for maintaining their gardens and lawns. He said HNZ arranged for a skip bin at the woman’s property, which she would pay for.
‘‘It’s about building connections and getting our hands dirty . . .’’ Senior Sergeant Toni Carroll