Palmerston North Senior Constable Phil Robinson’s role is about partnerships

Senior Constable Phil Robinson with Palmerston North Neighbourhood Support volunteers (from left) Jim Seumanu, Kathriona Benvie, Mary Shaffer and Margaret Bates. They are pictured at the Hokowhitu Farmers Market where they had a stall.

Partnerships are key to safer communities and Senior Constable Phil Robinson knows first-hand the importance the police liaison officer (PLO) role plays in this.

Robinson, who works in the Manawatū Community team and looks after Ashhurst and Massey University, wears multiple hats including police liaison for Palmerston North Neighbourhood Support.

While some of his key responsibilities as PLO include attending monthly board meetings, it’s the reach of the role and the impact it has that goes far beyond that.

“In my role as a PLO I attend many Neighbourhood Support events such as inductions for new groups and community activities such as street barbecues and tool engraving events,” he says.

“I also work closely with the Palmerston North Neighbourhood Support manager Alison Jarden and provide information or advice where needed regarding crime prevention, along with helping answer questions that she receives from the community.”

As well as building positive partnerships, being a PLO is about helping prevent crime.

“I enjoy working with Neighbourhood Support as it’s about trying to help the community before they become victims of crime, rather than being the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff,” Robinson says.

“We try to catch people before they fall, with advice to improve security, while also helping provide resilience in the communities through positive engagement with their neighbours, hopefully increasing a person’s feelings of safety in their home and neighbourhood.

“One of the most rewarding things about being a PLO is that 99 per cent of our engagement with the community is positive.”

The police’s relationships with non-governmental organisations are important as they can often get into and assist in places where the community does not want to be seen to be involved with the police.

“This could be for a variety of reasons such as fear of police or not wanting other members of the community to see them involved with the police.

“Sometimes it’s even because people feel that they don’t want to bother us with something they consider as minor.

“A good NGO can get in where needed and fill the gaps where required.”

Jarden says Robinson supports her by attending the initial meeting of new Neighbourhood Support groups, letting people know the importance of connected neighbours and giving security advice as well as presentations on crime prevention.

“He also highlights the importance of reporting crime, regardless of how trivial it may seem.”