Speaking out isn't a crime

How refreshing to see the Waikato District Commander tell reporters the truth about the explosion in crime – up 22% across the country, a 69% increase in stolen vehicles in Waikato and non-residential burglaries up 57%. Startling stuff. Those of us on the frontline have been witnessing it every day while putting up with fudging of the issue by other Police leaders and government. These sorts of figures are not confined to Waikato. Lots of other districts are being hit by crime waves. So now we’ve admitted the problem, what’s going to be done about it? Where is the stocktake of who’s doing what so we can get cops working in areas that will make a real difference – and that isn’t at PNHQ.

When the smoke clears...

I see there has been a restructuring of the top brass at PNHQ with a few changes in position and a few plum jobs advertised. Always good to see who is in favour and who might be heading for the door, subtle though these hints can be. It would be fair to say I don’t pay a lot of attention as whoever is there tends to make little difference to the realities of life in the districts. The profile the commissioner has in Police has changed over the years. In my early days, you hardly saw or heard from the commissioner. Now, the smoke signals from the castle are pretty constant. I suppose that is modern leadership.

No need for speed

I’m a parent. My kids go to school. If there is one place in this country where we need to have no tolerance for speed, it’s near a school. So, tell me why the camera car speed tolerance for school roads has gone from 4kmh to 9kmh? I didn’t even know it was at 4kmh, that’s wrong for a start. I have no words for this. It should be zero, pure and simple.

Park that speed

What’s going on at the College of Knowledge? Are we running out of space? This new “scenario village” setup has cost the place a safe and useful parking area, and this has gotten the locals up in arms. Now, a walk to work is not a bad thing, really the exercise could well and truly benefit some of us (yeah, me, “Super Pie Man”). But, considering the number of people who work at the Police College, you’d think some thought would have been put into where everyone is going to park their cars so as not to get the council and neighbours a bit miffed.

Mea culpa: Last month, I said PST staff helped the council clean up the streets outside Wellington pubs. Oops. They were staff from our awesome prevention groups, who work hard to keep the capital safe.