If you were in Napier CBD yesterday you probably would have been affected in some way by the bomb scare that saw the Napier Public Library and council buildings cordoned off for two hours.
For those of you not aware of the incident, a suitcase was left at the library,resulting in buildings being evacuated and a police bomb squad flying in by RNZAF helicopter from Wellington.
It turned out to be a false alarm with a young woman who had stepped off a bus from Waiouru leaving her bag at the library without informing anyone. Police say she was "pretty surprised" to discover what had happened.
I was in Napier at the time and although I was not directly affected, we did send a reporter and photographer to the scene immediately.
It must be a difficult situation for police to handle, because more often than not in this country bomb scares are simply that - a scare. It is simply a suspicious package or suitcase that has been abandoned, as in this case. However, what if police and bomb experts did not attend such callouts and one of them turned out to be the real deal?
I am sure most of us would agree that the police have to respond quickly just in case it is a serious situation. Sure, people should not be leaving items that could look suspicious in public places, but unfortunately that will probably continue to happen.
I suppose it is a case of ensuring that the safety of people is always paramount and if that means there are some disruptions, well it is always better to be safe than sorry.
