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Hawke's Bay neighbourhood Support preventing crimeHawke's Bay Today By DOUG LAING Long-serving Napier police officer and former detective Senior Sergeant Dan Foley says the most effective role of Neighbourhood Support is in preventing crime. Burglars were unlikely to go where they knew they were being watched, he said, and would target more vulnerable homes and businesses. While there were many examples of Neighbourhood Support members' information helping police solve crimes, there were also examples of where it had probably stopped crimes from being committed. Information about suspicious activity at least brings offenders and potential offenders to police notice. "We can't and don't always lock them up," he said, "But we can stop them, question them, and check what they're up to." "If we break their stride they know they've been rumbled, and they don't like that." Examples of alert responses: A woman arrives in her street and sees an unfamiliar vehicle exiting a driveway. She records some details of the vehicle. Soon afterwards she notices things have been stolen from the back yard. Police are contacted, and a man is interviewed, and charged with three burglaries, similar to others he has committed in crime sprees in the past. At least three members of a Neighbourhood Support group become suspicious when they see a group of young people walking along a road through their isolated rural community. Police are called, and identify the teenagers as being involved in the taking of a vehicle and thefts of petrol, and probably needing to steal another vehicle to get back to town. A man sees another man drive onto a property and back out as soon as the occupant of the property appears at the front of the house. The colour of the vehicle and registration number are passed to police who recognise it as "known" to them. They locate the vehicle, and a woman claims to have been the only person using that vehicle that morning. For some reason, she's not telling the truth.
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