It was written some years ago that Islam was achieving by immigration what it had failed to achieve by force of arms against the French for 900 years, and it would be difficult to argue against that now.
Whether the refugee crisis turns out to be a humanitarian calamity or the modern equivalent of a Trojan horse remains to be seen, but whatever the case, we in New Zealand have more reason than ever to be grateful for our geographical isolation, and given that Australia has already experienced terrorism, albeit on a relatively minor scale, to take care over who we allow to come here.
Meanwhile, a world away in Kaitaia, the big story in terms of safety and security is the relaunching of Total Security Management, Te Aupouri's solution to the largely petty crime that has long plagued the town's business community.
TSM has the unequivocal support of the Mayor and the local police, and coincides with the ongoing installation of more and better CCTV cameras in public places.
As the police noted last week, CCTV cameras are limited in their ability to reduce crime unless they are in the right places (which, when all 118 of them are installed, they surely will be), someone is monitoring them, and someone has the ability to respond to what those monitoring see happening (or even better, about to happen).
Cameras have long been a valuable tool for the police in terms of identifying offenders, but the hope now is that TSM, working with the police, will have the ability to prevent crime from happening in the first place.
One of Kaitaia's longest-serving police officers, who knows more than most about the workings of mischievous young minds, reckons that would-be offenders tend to lose heart when they know they have been identified or, in his words, "have lost their anonymity". That used to mean a police officer stopping for a wee chat, just to let them know that their presence in the streets had been noted before they got up to no good. These cameras promise to take that loss of anonymity to a whole new level.
However that won't happen if the town's business community does not support the system. The remainder of the cameras will be installed by the Kaitaia Business Association to provide images that will help the police catch offenders, but they will only deliver to their full potential if the business community supports TSM financially.
There is every reason why it should.
Businesses have been told that their contribution will be no more than what some are already spending on security: perhaps the key is to involve the freeloaders who have benefited in the past from the fact that Kaitaia has a security firm operating but have relied on others to meet the cost.
TSM needs 200 subscribers to be financially viable. That's about two-thirds of Kaitaia's business community. If 200 can't be found then the plan will fall over and the burglars will have almost free rein once more.
If that's what happens it will be a very bold victim who complains that not enough is being done to protect their property from thieves.
Ne'er-do-wells have more than cameras to worry about in Kaitaia now. Last week law enforcement in the town was bolstered by the arrival of a police dog and his handler, introducing a whole new element of risk for those who believe they can break the law, especially during the hours of darkness, confident in the knowledge that the police will have difficulty responding quickly enough to trouble them.
Bruce McLeod and Daz will be in their element after dark in a town where street lighting, or rather the lack of it, has long given the burglar an advantage. Sergeant McLeod has worked in formerly dogless communities in the past, and knows the impact a dog can have. The smart money is on street crime in its various forms plummeting in Kaitaia, if not from this point on then once one or two people have met Daz in his professional role and word get around about how sharp his teeth are.
There will be plenty of work for man and dog apart from catching CBD burglars, and Kaitaia should make no secret of its gratitude to those who have made their arrival possible. District Commander Russell le Prou is at the top of that list, with Area Commander Wendy Robilliard and local police close behind.
It's hardly a state secret that police resources are husbanded with extreme care these days and the addition of a dog handler to staff in the Far (and Mid) North would have required the making of a very strong case. The people who successfully made that case have served this community well, and deserve public acknowledgement.
With Daz, Kaitaia has taken one significant step towards ensuring that crime doesn't pay. In TSM it has the opportunity to take another, one that Kaitaia's senior police officer believes could not only put Kaitaia on the crime-fighting map but could provide a template for other small communities in Northland and around the country.
Wouldn't it be nice if Kaitaia made national headlines with a home-grown solution to what has until now been a seemingly intractable blight on society?
Te Aupouri has come up with an idea that clearly has the potential to serve Kaitaia well and is to be congratulated for that. So should the police, both for their support of the proposal and their willingness to do what they can to make it work. The third leg of the trifecta is the community itself, and it will be a huge shame if it does not get the support it needs from that quarter.
Kaitaia has been left in no doubt that it can have an effective security regime, but there will be no funding from outside the community to make it viable. If Kaitaia wants it, Kaitaia has to pay for it.
The police are doing their bit, and Bruce McLeod and Daz will go a long way towards making people and property safer than they have been for some time, but the town itself needs to do its bit as well. If it chooses not to then it will have very little room for complaint.
