Kaitaia crims had the best of it

If any of those who were arrested and flung into a police cell outside The Warehouse in Kaitaia on Saturday didnt want to be there they did a good job of hiding it.

With Dion Hobson on the sound system, showing a distinct lack of respect for the detainees and exhorting the crowd to spring for their bail, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The one exception might have been the constable who chased an escapee around the market, and couldnt catch him.

Some $1400 was raised, by bail donations and a Lions Club sausage sizzle, which will be invested in Blue Light youth initiatives and Be the Change youth group programmes. By yesterday morning the kitty had grown to $1600, and Senior Constable Rowena Jones was delighted.

It was amazing, she said, adding that the first priority would be getting as many as 10 young people to a week-long residential life skills programme at Hobsonville.

The arrestees, who donned their US chain gang-type outfits at the police station and were handcuffed and attached to a ball and chain when they got to The Warehouse, where they were escorted to the cell after a jolly good frisking by Senior Constable Jones (who somehow didnt find fireman Colin Kitchens hacksaw blade or Dr Lance OSullivans cell phone), were released as donations reached the level required for bail.

They included Be the Change members Zeek Raui (who had led the constable in the race around the market) and Gabby Walker, along with Senior Sergeant Geoff Ryan, Northland Age editor Peter Jackson, Mayor John Carter, Mr Kitchen, Dr OSullivan and MP-elect Kelvin Davis.

Te Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira was to have been there but was working for youth suicide awareness elsewhere, the appearance of a helicopter over the market sparking a Dion Hobson-inspired rumour that Kim Dotcom was dropping him off.

Meanwhile Be the Change takes over now, with a Chill Out night at Far North REAP in Kaitaia on Friday, 4pm to 9pm, featuring pampering, movies, PlayStation/board game competitions and more, then Saturday afternoon at Te Ahu (music, dance graffiti, skateboarding etc., 1pm to 5pm, followed by a Glow Rage, 7.30pm to 11pm for 14 years and over, at the same venue.

Admission to both will cost a gold coin donation.

The Saturday programme will include a Kids vs Cops fear factor, featuring the likes of cockroaches and Brussel sprout bobbing. Those who spent time in the cell on Saturday might have had the better of it.

From inside the cell - page 4