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Bulletin Board June 2007FROM THE DESK OF NEIGHBOURHOOD SUPPORT NATIONAL MANAGER, INGRID STONHILL WELCOMEIf this is the first time you have received the Bulletin Board then welcome on board - this is the second since commencing in the role in April. Below I would like to introduce you to the new National Community Policing Group, of which I am a member, based at Police National Headquarters in Wellington.  National Manager, Superintendent Bill Searle; Strategic Advisor, Rachael Bambery; Ingrid Stonhill and Manager Community Support, Inspector Morris Cheer. Most of you will probably have meet Morris, who has been working with us at Neighbourhood Support for many years! Rachael comes from the position of advisor to the Minister of Police and Bill has been working with Deputy Commissioner Lyn Provost. District VisitsI am pleased to have had the opportunity to visit a number of Districts along with the Community Policing team. They have included Northland, Wellington, Counties Manukau, Canterbury (I didn't get to Eastern) and Auckland. We are hoping to have all the District's visited by the end of July. At each visit we talk to the District Management team and usually the Community staff. In some districts we have also had the opportunity to talk to Neighbourhood Support volunteers and co-ordinators. It is very evident that each policing district has a very different way of working with Neighbourhood Support volunteers and co-ordinators. No one model fits all! Visit to LevinI recently visited Levin, by way of invitation from the local committee. It was to take part in the farewell function for Roy Sanson, their local community constable. Wendy had done a fantastic job in organising a surprise community farewell function. Both Roy and his wife were completely surprised and overwhelmed by the many accolades given to them by the community. Assistant Commissioner Grant Nichols also attended the event along with Area Commander Mark Harrison. The mayor also called in to wish Roy all the best. Community Patrols New ZealandNSNZ Chair, Joy Johnson, Inspector Morris Cheer, Superintendent Bill Searle and I had the pleasure of attending and taking part in the CPNZ conference recently held in Invercargill. It was an excellent opportunity to present the Police refreshed approach to community policing, which highlights the importance of neighbourhood support groups and community patrols. It also demonstrated the need for the two organisations to have closer working relationships as a way to strengthen both community organisations work. Whilst in Invercargill (my first ever visit there!) I had the pleasure to meet the lovely Karen Ave, Co-ordinator for Neighbourhood Support. Karen is supported by Mary, Community Development Manager for the Invercargill City Council who employs her for 20 hours per week. Karen is very much a part of the community but works pretty much alone down there in Invercargill. So you should drop her a line sometime and introduce yourself, a good way to find out what is happening in other districts. karen.ave@icc.govt.nz It was also great to see so many neighbourhood support people there! ResourcesDuring the Counties/Manukau visit I had the opportunity to meet Jean Robinson, who has worked within Police at District Management level for many years and is a huge supporter and worker within neighbourhood support. Jean and her committee have produced some fantastic resources for the local community, including a educational DVD. I hope to get copies of some of their resources to your district delegate and put onto our website. If you are producing some excellent resources in your area I would really like to see them! I am currently working with Police Public Affairs who look after the production, ordering and distribution of our neighbourhood support resources. We are currently out of stock on a few items and I hope we can be fully resourced again shortly. Police Act ReviewYour district delegate will have received a letter and copy of the Police Act Review consultation document for your information and comment. It is really important to take time to look at it and tell them what you think. It is a once in a life time opportunity to have some input into how you want to see Policing work in the future. Please let them know what you think. Contact your district delegate for more information or you can go on line to the Police website. Readynet DatabaseWe are in the final stages of completing the specification built database for Neighbourhood Support. We hope to start rolling it out into the districts within the next couple of months. If you have any questions about the new database, please contact Paul Millar from Napier. Naki Watch - EWatchI have recently touched base with Raewyn and Debbie in New Plymouth. They have added me to their email list that sends out the latest crime intel each week. I am sure a lot of you are already using a similar system, but naki watch is a great example of how effective crime reporting can reach your community. Next Neighbourhood Support New Zealand Board MeetingThe next board meeting is July 4th and 5th to be held at the Police College. Please make sure you contact your district delegate if you have any questions, ideas or comments you would like to make. Your delegate is there to keep you informed about where the organisation is heading. We look forward to welcoming Len Hill, chairman Auckland City to his first board meeting Good News Stories and FeedbackRemember I am always keen to hear about your good news stories, so thank you for sending me your local newspaper clippings. It is rewarding to see you featuring in the local news! I welcome hearing from you, so please feel free to contact me at any stage. Probably best either my email or mobile 0272 494520. Stay Safe, |
