Policing Otangarei

LAST YEAR, 10 percent of all crime in Whangārei was committed by people who call the small suburb of Otangarei home.

Constable Shane Dunn (left) and Sergeant James McCullough. Photo: the Northern Advocate

“That’s a fair bit of crime for a small place,” says Sergeant James McCullough, the head of the new Otangarei Community Safety Team.

The five-strong policing team is dedicated to Otangarei and will soon have a permanent base in the town. It’s the first time a community policing team has been dedicated to one suburb. The team will support initiatives that increase neighbourhood safety, reduce crime and help build a community spirit.

James says the community might be small but it has its share of challenges. With a population of just 2256, over 50 percent of the housing is state housing, there is a gang culture centred around Black Power and Mangu Kaha, and many of the residents are transient and unemployed.

The first priority has been to show residents a more positive side of police than they may have been used to. “We want them to see us as their police officers and we want to be on a first name basis with people in this community.

If we can make a difference in one community like Otangarei, there will be ripple effects across all of Whangārei,” James says.

In the four weeks they’ve been in the community, the team has been talking to retailers, students at Otangarei Primary School, and meeting with the local council and agencies such as Housing New Zealand to identify issues.

It’s hoped that within the next month, they will move into their new base, a Housing New Zealand flat near the marae. Once settled in, the team will be knocking on every single door in Otangarei, introducing themselves to residents. At the same time they’ll be doing a mail drop survey to identify the issues that concern the residents.

“It’s about having the right relationships with the right people,” James says.

The team has done a scoping exercise which involved walking around the community with council staff. They identified footpaths in need of a clean, access ways used to dump rubbish and stolen vehicles, and issues with lighting, tagging and overgrown trees.

The local Dog Control contractor gave the team a bunch of dog collars and leashes so that stray dogs can be secured to the nearest fence whilst North Comms contacts the contractor to come and uplift the dog.

“We are looking at things that will make a difference to the community – the way it looks and feels,” James says. An action day is planned to paint out graffiti around town.

There are also proposals to have residents take ownership of the anti-tagging message by adopting a bus-shelter or similar and being responsible for painting tagging out using paint donated to the council.

The team is working closely with the Ministry of Social Development, Housing NZ, Children Young Persons and Families, and the District Council as well as the local retailers, Otangarei Marae and the Otangarei Community Group which is made up of local residents including a patched Mangu Kaha member.

Being good role-models for the young people in the suburb is part of the team’s approach. Addressing the school assembly and dropping in during morning tea and lunchtime to chat with the children is helping to break down barriers. Helpfully, two of the team are ex-Otangarei School pupils.

James says their presence so far has been largely seen as positive by the community. “There is some suspicion, but on the whole the feedback has been that people are keen to have us around.

“We are different from other community policing teams in that we are not moving from one place to another to problem solve,” James says.

“This is a long term project – we’ll be in Otangarei for however long it takes.”