CITY SAFETY
Keeping the peace for 20 years
Twenty years ago the centre of Palmerston North was quite a different place. And not in a good sense.
It may have looked innocuous enough in daylight, but in the 90s The Square suffered a deplorable reputation for violence and other crime. The bad vibe was contributing to a negative national image for the city.
Two decades on and a group that made a significant contribution to The Square’s rehabilitation as a safe and vital city centre has earned a summer trial in an enhanced role.
Formed in December 1997, Safecity Hosts is about to embark on a new operational chapter, when in addition to its regular central city Thursday to Saturday night patrols, it will also have a summer daytime beat.
Head of the Safecity Trust and one of those responsible for setting up the original Safecity Group, Steve Williams, said the trial was a confirmation of the patrols’ ongoing effectiveness.
Its formation stemmed from ‘‘the troubles’’ of the 90s.
During that decade, The Square had been at the epicentre of numerous threatening and violent incidents that ranged from lowlevel assaults to full-on brutal attacks and rapes.
Typical of Manawatu¯ Standard headlines from the time were: ‘‘Violence blights the city’s heart’’ and ‘‘Police planning crackdown in Square’’.
Williams said people might remember that in those days The Square had secluded and hilly areas where security was a problem, especially at night.
‘‘In 1997 [The Square] was a bit of an overgrown jungle. There were lots of visual barriers and the lighting was poor.’’
Fuelled by alcohol, young people out on the town at night would move across The Square between liquor outlets, increasing the potential for violence.
Because of The Square’s concealed and screened-off spots, assaults could take place with impunity and violent incidents often went unwitnessed.
At the time, Williams was working at Manawatu¯ TV and Sound.
Back then, the company operated two stores, one on either side of The Square. Williams recalled feeling uneasy when he had to walk across The Square from one retail outlet to the other, especially on winter evenings.
While he managed to avoid any confrontation, his son hadn’t been so lucky, joining the growing numbers of people who had been assaulted there.
Fortunately for the safety of citizens and for the city’s reputation, Williams and others were determined to remove the blight of serious crime from what was becoming known as ‘‘the dark heart of the city’’.
In an effort to improve safety, Safecity was established out of mayor Paul Rieger’s Palmerston North Safer Community Council, which was set up in June 1997.
Rieger remembers the plea Williams made to the council about the formation of Safecity Hosts.
‘‘There were too many places [in The Square] for nasty people to hide,’’ the former mayor says.
‘‘[The council] agreed something had to be done, and [Williams] ran that, and we were all very pleased to see it happen.’’
Part of the problem had been caused over the years by planting in The Square of numerous commemorative trees, Rieger says.
However, behind the scenes, a massive revamp for The Square was also being planned, the first since its renovation for the city centennial in 1971.
It couldn’t happen soon enough. One night in August 1999 and despite the patrols, soldier Shawn Weir, 18, had almost every bone in his face smashed during a vicious beating by a gang of young thugs.
Surgeon Guy Lawton described Weir as having ‘‘the sort of injuries you see in someone who has been propelled through a windscreen at high speed, or who has taken a horse’s kick full in the face’’.
Appallingly, it was one of five city beatings Lawton was reported as having to deal with in the previous five months.
Weir went on to make a recovery, but The Square was on notice as a place wise people shunned.
‘‘The environment has completely changed since then, and The Square has been dramatically improved,’’ Williams says.
Today’s open central cityscape, he says, owes a great deal to efforts by successive mayors and councils working alongside planners, police, community groups and individuals.
The $24 million redevelopment of The Square, a project known as City Heart, got under way in 2002. Completed in stages from 2004, the landscaping was finally finished by 2007, and the roading by 2011. Lighting in The Square was further upgraded in 2014.
A big influence on the redesign had been the implementation of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, or CPTED, a way of changing the physical layout of an environment in order to deter anti-social and criminal activity.
‘‘The Square was designed by a team including CPTED specialist Dr Frank Stok, and is an example of a job well done,’’ Williams says.
‘‘It is one of the finest examples of a smart, safe city centre anywhere.’’
The newly designed environment even attracted the attention of then Justice Minister Phil Goff, who referred to the city’s ‘‘significant reduction in crime’’ in a speech made at the 2005 Urbanisation Downunder conference hosted in Wellington. In 2006, the Manawatu¯
Standard reported: ‘‘The redevelopment of The Square in Palmerston North has transformed it from a haven for low-lifes to a safe area for all, spokesmen for the police and the redevelopment group say.’’
John Brenkley, a landscape architect with the city council and member of the City Heart team, was quoted saying that the aim had been ‘‘to create a space that’s an open and active environment’’ where ‘‘by default, people look out for each other’’.
‘‘There are now clear lines of sight, safe walkways, alternative paths, and CCTV, complemented by a bylaw banning liquor in the CBD,’’ Williams says.
Bar owners are also on board. ‘‘We have accords with bar owners who co-operate in mitigating alcohol-related behaviour.’’
While incidents still occur, Williams says that over two decades, the hosts proved their worth as extra sets of eyes and ears, as well as providing a physical presence.
In doing so, they exemplify the ‘‘situational prevention’’ aspect of CPTED – ‘‘that the presence of authority changes people’s behaviour’’.
‘‘And they can’t be redeployed to another crime or traffic scene,’’ Williams says.
The majority of incidents reported by the patrols during August and September this year, occurred on Main St between The Square and Princess St.
The mural and lighting programme on Berrymans Lane in October is part of an ongoing strategy to make nights along that stretch of street safer.
Last month’s announcement that $32,200 of council money will be invested in a three-month daytime trial for an extra pair of roving ‘‘city hosts’’ in the city centre was quite unintentionally timed for the Safecity Hosts 20th anniversary.
‘‘We’re looking forward to [the trial],’’ Williams says.
‘‘They’ll be working closely with council and i-site. Our teams are caring and diligent about what they do, and are helpful to the community.’’
The daytime role will work on a different model to the night-time patrollers. As well as continuing to discourage and report anti-social behaviour, they will assist members of the public with directions and information.
‘‘They will still have an operational relationship with police, but their primary role is ambassadorial,’’ Williams says.
Community engagement, libraries and community services manager Ian Littleworth says the trial, which will see two mobile ambassadors dressed in a casual Manawatu¯ green uniform on foot patrol from 11am to 5.30pm six days a week, will start on December 12.
Littleworth says things will be progressively assessed and tweaked as the trial goes on. ‘‘The whole operation is to have accessible, friendly faces on the streets who can help people with things like parking, places and event information, and contribute to the vibrancy and life of the CBD.’’