Daniel Johnston: Commercial landlord in Henderson.
Crime: Most recently, the theft of two new trailers and digging equipment valued in the hundreds of thousands from his tenants' property.
Facts: Three weeks after the theft, Johnston saw a car towing what he believes was one of the trailers carrying parts of
the stolen equipment. Complaint lodged: Rang police immediately while following the vehicle to get licence plate.
Police response: The operator told him to go to the local station and report it.
Follow-up: None, no report made.
What he wants: 100 per cent response rate to all crimes, a focus on preventing crime rather than making money from crime.
"I've worked as a consultant for police and police unions in North America. I've lived in Canada and the US and I've always thought of police as being there to serve and protect, as something you can count on, and I can't here.
"We've had incidences of vandalism, breaking and entering, and there's no point phoning. And it's not a police numbers thing: I'm used to the same ratio of cops per head back home.
"They just want to issue tickets. The focus, by every objective measure, is about money, it's not about serving and protecting the public."
- HERALD ON SUNDAY
