Message to minister: More police officers please
More police staff for Hamilton will be the top request when the new police minister meets with city leaders tomorrow.
‘‘The police are really busy and stretched,’’ Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate said on Wednesday, adding that ‘‘our prime concern is the escalation of the aggressive smash and grab raids’’ in the city and youth offending as well.
Southgate and the city area police commander Andrea McBeth will be having a longawaited meeting with the new police minister, Chris Hipkins, in
Hamilton tomorrow.
Southgate said she had no specific dollar figure in mind when it came to asking for extra resources but more staff was a priority given local growth.
‘‘My concern is . . . putting some more police into the Waikato.’’
She noted Hamilton businesses were able to apply for new money to help protect from ramraids but said this was administered in Auckland, and was not Hamilton specific.
She’s also previously noted Hamilton doesn’t have its own dedicated aerial surveillance capacity, with a crime helicopter based in Auckland. Hamilton, however, had a very high crime rate per capita with its own problems, she said on Wednesday. ‘‘We’re not a suburb of Auckland.’’
Southgate also wanted to impress on Hipkins the stress retailers were feeling due to crime and the effects on their mental health.
She wanted to know what the Government was planning about tackling repeat offending and youth offending in particular.
‘‘How do we wrap some support around our youth?’’
The meeting – which comes after an earlier hui with former Police Minister Poto Williams was canned in June – is another example of a joined up approach to tackling local crime.
A collaborative Safer City Task Force begun two years ago between the police and the city council has since expanded to include organisations like Waikato University’s crime science department, WaikatoTainui, community social organisations, Oranga Tamariki and Kā inga Ora.