Clive residents: Bring back our cop

RUNNING ON EMPTY: Tukituki Labour spokeswoman Anna Lorck (left) with Clive residents Jim Stevenson, Ted Tobeck and Larry Hellyer outside the vacant Clive community police station. PHOTO/PAUL TAYLOR

Clive residents are reeling after the loss of their community constable and are calling for a swift replacement.

They said having a phone in place of an officer at their local station does not wash.

It is something they are prepared to "make a noise" about if it were to transpire that the doors would not reopen.

The station, which had been manned by Constable Alan Daly, has been closed for several months with a phone now in place for people to make their calls or complaints.

Ted Tobeck, who is part of the 15-strong Clive Community Hall committee, said he had been living in the township for 20 years and there had always been a community constable covering the patch.

"If it gets closed for good it will be devastating," Mr Tobeck said, adding that the locals were unlikely to simply lie down and take it.

He and other members had contacted Tukituki MP Craig Foss and were told that the issue had not yet been decided one way or the other.

Mr Foss said a reduction in crime statistics and an increase in resolution rates was due to a refocusing of resources by the region's police.

Senior police management said the district was undergoing a review of its structure and that included staffing and police buildings. Police said no decisions had been made at this stage.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Police Districts Grant Nicholls said all areas were changing the way they worked so as to provide better services and take advantage of technology - which would free up more front-line police resources.

That did not wash with Mr Tobeck.

"We simply oppose this idea and if it is decided to close it for good we will stage a public meeting and get all the locals involved."

He said having a sign indicating the building was a police station and a phone to call police communications was "just not good enough".

"If they say they can have a police officer on hand ready to come to Clive if he's called then they can have one stationed here."

As part of their campaign it was decided to keep the grass mowed at the station grounds but Mr Tobeck said that was greeted by a visit to a neighbouring property by a senior officer.

"They said that was none of our business." The group have an ally in Labour's Tukituki spokeswoman Anna Lorck who said while crime figures appeared to be down they were, per capita of population, the worst of the regions.

"I have so much respect for the police and what they do with the limited resources they have," she said. Losing police numbers was the last thing communities needed, Ms Lorck said, adding that people needed to send a strong message to Government that they would not accept cutbacks or the loss of community policing.

"I am right behind the people of Clive on this because this is, I believe, just the tip of the iceberg - it is more than losing a police constable in Clive and the number one priority is community safety."

She said there was a wider issue involved and the Clive station appeared to be "a victim of circumstances".