Neighbourhood Support proves worth in cordon

In the wake of last month's siege in Napier which left a policeman and the gunman Jan Molenaar dead, Neighbourhood Support groups are urging more residents to join up.

Kapiti support groups said organisations such as theirs did valuable work – but to perform at their best, more residents needed to take part.

Neighbourhood Support was set up to ensure members of communities were aware of their neighbourhoods and to make their communities safer places in which to live.

Neighbourhood Support New Zealand Chairman Paul Miller said four Neighbourhood Support groups inside the cordon area in Napier enabled police to make contact with home owners in the early stages of the police operation.

"Neighbourhood Support group listings provided police with alternative phone numbers for those that were still at work, or were wondering about what to do with children picked up from school," he said.

"[They] were also able to assist in pinpointing homes where extra care might be required, including issues such as pets and persons who were unwell."
Kapiti Neighbourhood Support coordinator Alison Hobcraft said the Napier siege was a classic example of Neighbourhood Support being able to act as a contact point. But to be most effective, it needed more people on the streets helping as "extra eyes and ears" to provide information.

In Kapiti, there were 75 street contacts for Neighbourhood Support – her "wish list" was to see a group and contact person on every street. "There's almost a fear that people have to register or formalise a group, when all I want is a phone number and an e-mail to send out an alert saying 'something's going on in your area, keep your awareness up', 'or did you see anything?'.
"It's a connection for information for the police, as well as us, to give them information."

Many residents did not want to become street contacts, she said believing it would be too much hassle. "When people are talking about groups they go 'well, who's going to be our street contact?  I have to do a poster, you have to come to my house, and I have to tidy it'.

"I say you could do this in 10 minutes, every month. The initial thing is having a meeting and, if that's a big issue, then we can get the key to the centre and do it there. There's usually and answer to make things easier," Ms Hobcraft said.

Local businesses could also become involved in Neighbourhood Support, to free up police from walking around each business to alert them in an emergency.

Neighbourhood Support national manager Roger Eynon said communities could help each other simply by being there when neighbours are in need."

by Massey Journalism student Motoko Kakubayashi