Mr Gillbanks said he and Western Bay police commander Inspector Clifford Paxton wanted to turn around community perceptions in the area of Hartford Ave and try to take it out of its current way of thinking.
There were issues with young people, and patched gangs were starting to take a foothold.
After a letter box drop announcing that police would be door knocking and running a survey, it was found that the biggest issues for residents were how the area looked, roaming dogs and the prevalence of patched gang members.
"The biggest issue was roaming dogs."
It led to a crackdown by council dog control officers, the installation of bollards to stop cars being parked on grassed road verges, and low-cost initiatives to tidy the place up involving the community.
A second letter box drop announced that a neighbours' day would be held on March 28 in which residents pitched in to paint the front fence of Hartford Ave Reserve, decorate the playground with murals and prepare the grass roundabout with Lynn Grove for new gardens.
Mr Gillbanks said it brought the community out to take a pride in their neighbourhood. "It looks a lot better and the general feeling is that people do care and they want to make a bit of an effort." A closed-circuit TV camera will be installed on the Lynn Grove/Hartford Ave roundabout to monitor traffic, aimed particularly at the behaviour of drivers doing burnouts.
Police were also working with the YMCA to introduce youth programmes into the area.
Mr Gillbanks said the initiative was because police did not want to be the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.
Committee chairman Steve Morris said the residents of Papamoa were extremely appreciative of Sergeant Gillbanks' approach to policing.
