Council helps fund new car for community patrol

The Cape Coast Community Patrol has new wheels for its travels around the coastal communities being the eyes and ears for local police.

The patrol covers an area including Clive, Whakatū, Haumoana and Te Awanga, and has been operating since 2012.

Co-ordinator Philip Irwin said this year the team has a new car for its patrols, financed from savings made over the past seven years as well as Hastings District Council’s annual $3000 grant and Eastern and Central Community Trust funding.

Another major sponsor is BP Clive, which helps with fuel costs.

One of the first 10 people to join the patrol when it started, Mr Irwin said the team is made up of 34 volunteers in total, two of whom set out on a monthly rostered basis to do three-hour patrols of the Cape Coast area.

He said it’s satisfying to be able to help out the community.

“We have record sheets in the car and fill those out to report back to the Police.

“We might report sightings of stolen cars or people trying to break into vehicles or properties – once you’ve been doing it for a while you get a good sense of when things might be amiss.

“About three or four years ago when that French tourist went missing, one of our patrollers was the last person to see him alive.”

More recently, he said there’s been a number of beehives being stolen.

“We reported a heap of hives we saw on the back of truck - these are sort of things we keep an eye on.”

Cape Coast Community Patrol is one of four community patrols supported by Hastings District Council, the others covering Hastings, Flaxmere and Havelock North.  

Council security manager Clint Adamson reminded people that if they see anything they wish to report to contact the police on 111 in an emergency, and 105 for non-emergencies.

4 February 2022

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