Waipukurau Community Patrol searching for more volunteers

The Waipukurau Community Patrol car is a common sight on the streets on Friday and Saturday nights.

In 2008, after many years of letterbox vandalism, trees damaged and bottles smashed in the main street, Kevin Williams with the support of police set up a community patrol based in Waipukurau.

The Waipukurau Community Patrol has been going ever since, building support from local businesses to the extent they were able to replace the use of private vehicles with a dedicated community patrol vehicle.

The first patrol car was donated by Ruahine Motors in 2010, after then CHB Community Constable Glynn Sharp walked into the Waipukurau car dealer one day on “the off chance” they might have an old trade-in they could donate.

The result was a Ford Laser that did good service - and a lot of kilometres - for the patrol until it was upgraded by Ruahine Motors in 2017. Ruahine Motors pays registration, servicing costs, tyres and repairs for the vehicle, while insurance is paid for by AON Insurance and signwriting by Sign Art Hatuma Rd.

Mitre 10 Waipukurau and Stevenson and Taylor assist with funding for fuel costs and police provide radio communications for the twice-weekly patrols.

Waipukurau Community Patrol chairman Bruce Poole says the patrols take up to two and a half hours on Friday and Saturday nights, with two patrollers per car, and are risk-free.

“As we are the ‘eyes and ears’ of the police, we always stay in our car. We patrol businesses and schools checking for insecure buildings, damage or suspicious activity, which we report directly to police.

“We don’t currently have any business owners or staff represented on the patrol and we’re actively looking for more people to join and help spread the coverage over Waipukurau and Waipawa,” Bruce says.

There is also a call for funding for running costs and the maintenance of the CCTV camera system covering Waipukurau and Waipawa, installed over the last five years.

Bruce says, “One of our community patrol members, who is 80, has almost single-handedly raised more than $70,000 to buy and install a CCTV system throughout Waipukurau and Waipawa for extra security.

“Information gathered is monitored and acted on by CHB Police. The system is a tremendous asset to the community but requires maintenance and electricity ... currently funded by the community patrol at about $90 a month. We are appealing to local businesses to help out with donations,” Bruce says.

“It would be appreciated if we could count on the generosity of local businesses to help with our continued coverage of the town’s security as we know our patrols are an asset to police.

“We have a tremendous, safe community and our aim is to continue this in any way we can through our partnerships.”

To offer assistance or for more information please contact Bruce Poole on (06) 858 9940 or 027 244 9090.