Rural community patrol to get new 4WD

Sandy Ibbotson

The Napier Community Patrol's rural operations are set to get a four-wheel-drive boost in the wake of a funding top-up from the Eastern and Central Community Trust.

Community Patrol co-ordinator Sandy Ibbotson was delighted with the news and said the timing could not have been better as the current vehicle being used for the rural surveillance programme was ageing and had not been ideal for some of the bumpy country terrain the volunteers travelled.

The funding was also boosted by a grant from the Infinity Foundation.

"We have been very fortunate with the help we have received," Mrs Ibbotson said.

Purchase of the new vehicle was now being sorted and it is scheduled to hit the roads in about a fortnight.

Patrols through Patoka, Puketitiri and areas off the Taihape Rd have been carried out for just over three years with the core of the 12 to 15 designated rural patrol members making their presence known to farmers, property owners, lifestylers and everyone in the country they come across - introducing themselves and letting them know what they are doing.

Which, like the city patrols, is keeping an eye out for suspicious activity and vehicle movements.

"The group is making a real difference in helping to keep our communities safe," Community Trust general manager Jonathan Bell said.

"They are not police officers and do not fill that role but they provide an important presence that helps prevent illegal activities."

The Napier unit is one of the biggest community patrols in New Zealand, in terms of both its volunteer numbers and its work output, and is the only city-based patrol that also has a strong rural service.

It had also attracted the financial support of the trust in the past. The Napier patrol has 240 volunteers and six vehicles, although additional private vehicles are occasionally used to keep up a visual presence during major events.

Mrs Ibbotson, and her husband Brooke, have been involved since initiating the patrols alongside Taradale Community Police Senior Constable Pete Gimblett in 2006. "Our rural patrols provide a range of assistance," Mrs Ibbotson said. "It's about reassurance and helping isolated communities know that the police are looking out for them."