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Bulletin Board Issue 12November 2008 - March 2009 FROM THE DESK OF ROGER EYNON Kia ora and welcome to the 12th issue of Bulletin Board. Apologies for being away so long! Who'd have thought that the holiday period between December and January would conjure up so many challenging matters? In this issue we once again celebrate the recent successes of our organisation locally and nationally. The months of November through to March have been incredibly busy with the refreshing and resigning of the Memo of Understanding between New Zealand Police and Neighbourhood Support New Zealand occurring at the November Board meeting, which I referred to in the last issue. This was not only a prudent review of the relationship but was groundbreaking due to the inclusion and introduction of the Police title "Neighbourhood Support Police Liaison Officer" which has been promoted throughout the country and continues to be the case. We have a new Government but it is business as usual in terms of Neighbourhood Support throughout the country. The current global climate has made an already competitive environment even more competitive for organisations such as Neighbourhood Support. I would urge all Neighbourhood Support Areas to ensure that they have robust practices and that they are able to demonstrate a good understanding of Council, Police and Civil Defence priorities. The Police National Business Plan 2009/2010 under Government term priorities - states that they will "work closely with local communities on local crime priorities including reinvigorating Neighbourhood Support schemes". In the last few months, I have observed many different levels of relationships with other organisations throughout the Districts. I am aware of many areas where Neighbourhood Support, Local Council and Civil Defence work well together, but am also aware that there are areas where this relationship needs some nurturing. The effectiveness of Neighbourhood Support cannot be judged by strength of numbers alone but also in how well it works with other organisations when delivering effective support directly into the heart of the community. You can contact me: Email Roger Eynon or telephone 04 470 7022. This Bulletin Board is designed to give you an update on how things are progressing with Neighbourhood Support throughout the country. PLEASE PASS IT ON TO YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD SUPPORT CONTACTS Welcome on BoardNorthland District - Welcome to Nicole Devereux, Northland Chair and Board Delegate. Nicole is the local Police Development Manager and is well placed to take Neighbourhood Support forward with an added advantage of being informed in Policing matters. Nicole has been invited to the May Board meeting and we all look forward to putting a face to the name. Best wishes to Selma Taylor who previously held the delegate role in Northland and had worked tirelessly in the pursuit of Neighbourhood Support development there. I understand Selma will continue in her Treasurer role for Auckland City Neighbourhood Support. Waitematā Delegate - Graeme Smith has stood down as Chair of his committee and I wish him all the best for the future. Graeme was the first to invite me to his neighbourhood when I started in this role and I thank him for all his hard work in all things to do with Neighbourhood Support. The new Chair for the committee is Georgia Ball and the Deputy Chair is Samantha Farquhar. I have met both and we share the same common goals. We await the nomination of the Waitematā Delegate who will join with the rest of the NSNZ Board. NSNZ Secretary - Dorothy Lomas has joined the Board in the role of National Secretary. Dorothy works part-time for Police and is well versed in procedures and protocol. More important - Dorothy keeps me on my toes as she also is stationed at Police Headquarters in Wellington. She compliments her new role with a history in volunteering and is currently a member of the Inner Wheel (Rotary Club). Also: Masterton Coordinator Sam Andrews-Paul has introduced herself to me and we have had plenty of email and telephone catch ups. Sam is new to Neighbourhood Support but has experience in complimentary fields. I look forward to meeting Sam in the near future. Community Policing Group - Inspector Carey Griffiths joined as Acting National Manager and picked up where Superintendent Bill Searle left off. Bill is now the District Commander of Waitematä. Community Policing Group - Rachael Bambery, Strategic Adviser, returned after a 6 month fellowship in Washington DC where she was studying Community Policing. She will implement some of her findings and continue to work on implementing Community Policing. Nescafe TogetherNES Campaign2008 saw some high profile promotion of the kind of "back in the day" neighbourly spirit that some may consider is somewhat lacking these days. I have asked the PR company responsible for involving us in the first place for an update. It's all quiet but in this line of work, that doesn't necessarily mean anything. As soon as there is an update or news that it will continue for a second year, I will place something on our website. Reporting MembershipFrom the end of April 2009 - I will be presenting this to our partners as a measure of our membership and engagement with the community. That means that those districts/areas that have yet to embrace this process will not be represented. It is a simple process and I am happy to discuss this matter at any time. I am sure that the information is already being held locally and simply needs to feed through. Neighbourhood Support should be able to demonstrate its strength in numbers at least once per year. In November, I requested that our delegates consider contacting all of their coordinators who can contribute to this piece of work. In other words, the time is here to pull together our main asset - our membership - and start using that as solid tool to help Neighbourhood Support move forward in the scheme of things. I wish to reiterate that without a reliable benchmark of current membership, we are underplaying our hand in truly representing our strength throughout the country. We exist in a competing field. Councils, Trusts and Charities - all have a number of community focused grant and funding requests to consider. I ask all coordinators to reflect on the purpose of keeping local records purely local. The briefest of information will allow the national body to show that Neighbourhood Support is a strong organisation that can deliver important services directly to the heart of communities. Nationally, NSNZ has the ability to seek to engage with Government, Police, Civil defence and other complimentary organisations. My call is to those who can add cement to our bricks and help provide the inner strength I know we have. VolunteersI thought it best to cover an aspect of Neighbourhood Support and of other organisations that can easily be taken for granted: VolunteeringThe benefit that is gained from community members who decide to give their time and skills freely is incalculable. Neighbourhood Support is one such organisation that benefits from a huge wealth of volunteer experience and hours. Street Contacts, Area Coordinators, Delegates, Treasurers and Secretaries give up their own time for a role that tends not to recognise their contribution often enough. We exist largely on this basis. The great thing about Neighbourhood Support is that people do it because they want to. My colleague Inspector Morris Cheer has completed a draft policy for volunteers within Police and how they should be considered for practical duties. I agree that in order to offer a rewarding role to a volunteer, then it should be one that is agreeable to both parties and that there is an obvious positive outcome for both sides. This would mean that Neighbourhood Support could be the beneficiaries of people who raise their hands to volunteer for Police related roles. It is not unreasonable to foresee skilled community members working alongside Neighbourhood Support coordinators, Community Constables and Civil Defence. Here is an excerpt from December's Ten One: The Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector says more than one million New Zealanders volunteer, both informally within their communities and through the 97,000 plus organisations that make up the community and voluntary sector.
Police is the grateful recipient of the time and assistance of over 1,000 police volunteers working at or from police premises around the country. These community minded people give freely of their time and skills to assist the New Zealand Police to make their community safer.
They help out in numerous ways; as office attendants, monitoring crime prevention cameras, caring for police pups, supporting Blue Light events or acting as a mentor to a young person on a Youth Development Programme.
Many other people assist police through membership of community groups including Neighbourhood Support, search and rescue organisations, Community Patrols of New Zealand, D.A.R.E., Maori Wardens, Victim Support and as Police chaplains.
Police volunteering supports the Community Policing model.
The National Community Policing Group provides guidelines for police volunteers and has been working on a project to improve how we support police volunteers. The new guidelines will include many of the best practice models already in use in districts.
A new pre-Police Volunteer Vetting form has been developed. It covers people residing with the applicant aged over 18 years who must also consent to being vetted.
Volunteers and their referees will be interviewed and will be bound by the Police Code of Conduct. Police volunteers will receive an induction of their work area and sign an agreement that gives the volunteer and Police the opportunity to see if the volunteer is suited to the job.
Perhaps the biggest innovation is the development of a database of volunteers that will be accessible on Lotus Notes in much the same way as information about Police staff is recorded and will also include a photo. New “Volunteer” ID cards will be issued in 2009.
"Police volunteers provide a tremendous amount of assistance to police," says Inspector Carey Griffiths, acting National Manager Community Policing. "This project is one way of recognising that assistance and providing better support."
To remind us of the importance of volunteers, Volunteer Wellington has informed me that during Volunteer Awareness Week - June 14 until June 20 a supplement page in the Dominion Post will appear on Tuesday June 17. The page will consist of community notices and advertisements which give opportunities to thank and celebrate volunteers, staff and also to assist in further recruitment. If you would like to be a new contributor, simply ring about your interest. It is a great opportunity to be part of a page that is solely dedicated to news about volunteers, volunteering and voluntary organisations. Ring Pauline on 04 499 4572 or email vw@volunteerwellington.org.nz or contact your own local equivalent. ResourcesMorris Cheer and I continue to both update existing and produce new fact-sheets in line with community needs and requirements. Take a peek now at the fact-sheets that are available (and are commonly used by well known organisations around the country but put their names to the content - with our permission): http://www.ns.org.nz/index.html/Factsheets Plastic bags are now exhausted (we are considering something more environmentally friendly and hope to have a replacement in the not too distant future). All Kiwi Cops stickers will also not be replaced as these were a one off order from some years' back. So - first come, first served. The "Cool Kids Wear Lids" sticker is close to the end. We recognise that these stickers have been very popular so we are (surprise, surprise) looking to update and offer something similar. Also, please be mindful when ordering large quantities of resources. There may not be sufficient to meet your requirements at that time. It would be a good idea to make an enquiry early on in the process so that you are not disappointed. Business CardsFor those who require them - I can order but there are strict requirements. There has to be a street address as part of the address panel, so a PO Box alone is not enough. The details would be as follows:
Next NSNZ Board MeetingTwo days have been booked at Police College in Wellington - 5th & 6th May 2009. The meeting of 10/11/2008 was held at PNHQ. The minutes of which were posted on our website. Ministry of Social DevelopmentInter Departmental Meeting The last meeting was held on 2/4/2009 and Morris Cheer and I attended. A feature of this meeting was a presentation from SPARC regarding Sport, Recreation and Physical Activity Participation Among New Zealand Adults. The presentation centred on the participation of older persons. The MSD input is important for our purposes as it reminds and informs us of complementary services currently being delivered or produced for the benefit of a lot of our more vulnerable members. Significant Diary EntriesNovember 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
Events ListThis is where I would like to include your contributions to the bulletin. It would be wonderful to list all the local activities and initiatives that NS groups get involved with and put them here. So - get typing and tell me what is going to happen, when and where. When it's all done - let me know what the result was and I will post it as soon as I can.
Good News and InformationI've been regularly posting items on our website - so - keep them coming. Within the last few months or so, three separate things tied themselves together in my mind. I received a telephone call from the media asking for my comments on how a focus on reporting currently unreported crime would look to Neighbourhood Support. Unreported crime is just that. It is without record. A policy under which this would be addressed is to be applauded but my comments centered on the fact that an immediate increase in reported crime should not unduly worry the community or social commentators. This has been followed by two incidents that you, the reader can make your own mind up about: I read an article in a Sunday magazine supplement that was written by the acting editor. This person looked straight in the eye of a trespasser who was on her property. She shouted and he ran off. This was not reported and a few days later, she was burgled with the loss of the usual things: laptop, jewelry, etc. I was forwarded a personal experience from Bay of Plenty: Hi there ........many thanks for the hugely informative and entertaining (BoP) newsletter – it is certainly well read in our house… I was interested to read of the teen who has been stealing from cars. About a month ago I had $30 worth of MTA (petrol) vouchers stolen from my car during the night. (I hadn’t locked my car after work as I had expected to be going out again later, but hadn’t needed to, and had subsequently forgotten to lock it...) When I went to work the next morning I noticed a bit of a mess on the floor by the driver’s seat, and immediately clicked that the vouchers were gone. The person had only stolen the petrol vouchers – no cds, no parking meter money, etc. Just as mentioned in the article, I live in a cul-de-sac. I didn’t report the theft, as my husband was away for a week, and I thought perhaps he had taken them, but he confirmed on his return that he hadn’t. It seemed too late at that point, but in hindsight I should’ve let the police know. I was gutted about the theft, as my husband is unemployed and the petrol vouchers were to pay for a trip to see my recently widowed Mum… Anyway, I don’t know if this teen is the same person that was pilfering out of my car, but I hope so… I have certainly learnt a couple of things from the experience – LOCK the car, and let the police know of these things… Thanks for the information, and keep up the great work! Sure - I've taken out a couple of words and identifying features but the rest is as written. And finally....... I was sent a scan of a thoroughly encouraging and motivating story. I paraphrase: Kath Fowler of Porirua patrols the Ara Harakeke walkway on her mobility scooter. She does so after her friend was pushed down the bank by an aggressive jogger who was passing her for the second time. There was nothing more involved in the attack but her friend needed to grab hold of grass to stop herself from rolling further down the bank.
Kath has given up afternoons and evenings to use her mobility scooter to escort elder friends and neighbours, pick up litter and report tagging. Kath is a long time member of Keep Porirua Beautiful and has been a member of Porirua Guardians since 2005.
Not strictly Neighbourhood Support but definitely neighbourhood support! Newsletters and E-WatchFrom my visits so far, a frequent comment from members is that local group newsletters are a valuable source of information. I receive the odd one myself in my capacity as National Manager, but I know there are more out there, doing the rounds. So.......let me have a copy from time to time to keep me informed too. Newsletters and email bulletins regularly received from:
You can subscribe to New Zealand Police Community Edition "Ten One" by visiting http://www.police.govt.nz and follow the prompts or go straight to: http://www.tenone.police.govt.nz/tenone/signup.htm NSNZ WebsiteWe are actively working to ensure that contacts and email routing are up to date. It does take a bit of maintenance to keep it correct and interesting. The site does reflect what is going on in the districts, how they do it and what the outcomes are. I also try and put a bit of best practice on there to help share what works well with all the groups around the country. Please help me present NSNZ in its true light and let me know about your group and initiatives. We now have 9 links to local Neighbourhood Support websites and only one page where all news is posted and the archived material is at the bottom of the page. Nice and tidy in one place. Contact person changes are made as soon as practically possible. Our homepage now carries a link in Chinese characters. This link will take the enquirer direct to the Police Chinese language information page. It is to reaffirm our support for and assist the community in New Lynn and the wider Chinese community. Best PracticeHow do we swap best practice? I hope it will be here as well as on the website. It may be that we take ideas from the good news stories or events list and results that are published, but feel free to offer gems that have a bearing on how we can do things better. At Board meetings and at our respective desks, we freely talk about what has worked as well as what hasn't. We share the good with the bad. You will notice the odd website posting that demonstrates something that worked well. The national site - http://www.ns.org.nz - carries frequent updates ranging from good news to best practice ideas. Please keep these coming! Thanks for reading and I hope there is something here for everyone. If you are feeling left out because your article hasn't been included, simply send it in anyway. My aim is to share the activities of NSNZ around the country and let our audience know how we positively influence the community around us. Heoi anō Roger 23/04/2009 |
