Warm welcome offsets cold shock

ON THE BEAT: John Woodward says working on your own, or with potentially one other, is good, but you've got to have your wits about you. PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

Martinborough's new police officer is enjoying the move to Wairarapa, even if the winter temperatures have come as a bit of a shock.

Constable John Woodward and his family relocated in June, eager to move closer to family in Taranaki. Mr Woodward, who is based in Martinborough but works across all of South Wairarapa, said the community had welcomed the family and his two sons had already made friends.

"We love it. It's beautiful, the town's beautiful. The area's lovely.

"People have been really great - they've been really keen to have someone back here, which makes half the job easier."

Mr Woodward has been a police officer for 12 years, and has worked in Hamilton and South Taranaki, as well as Granity and Ross on the West Coast of the South Island.

While enjoying the change of location, the winter temperatures had been somewhat of a shock.

"We get the occasional frost down there but it's just so wet down there - when it rains, it really rains, whereas here that cold is unbelievable ...

"The first couple of weeks were a shock."

While his new role was busier, some of the challenges of being a police officer in a small town were the same.

"The coast was different in terms of my patch - I could be the only cop on call for four hours in one direction so you could potentially be called out for something, drive four hours, deal with it in half in hour and turn around and drive hours home ... the workload wasn't as busy but the distance was greater ... but I'm enjoying the fact that there's at least one, if not more, staff who I'm working with.

"The isolation is still a challenge, and that's still the same as the coast. Working on your own or with potentially one other is good, but you've got to have your wits about you.

"You've got to give people a lot of courtesy and respect. And that goes a long way, you can gain that back from people."

Working on a rotating shift, Mr Woodward is the only officer in Martinborough and mans the station when not out on jobs.

"Living and working in the same community is a challenge. It's still a sole charge station in that respect. People come and knock on the door and sort of know who I am and you go to the shop and they know who you are and I have no problem with that, I really enjoy that and take a sense of pride in that."

One type of crime he would be trying to tackle was domestic violence.

"We seem to attend a lot of domestic violence jobs and I find them more challenging because it's such a shame, and it's quite upsetting to be honest - and it's a real waste of people's lives ... I'd like to keep trying to do a better job because there's nothing worse than going to the same house, not because we don't want to go, but it's just such a shame to see people doing the same thing twice."

Mr Woodward enjoys hunting and cycling, although he has not yet had the chance to indulge either of these hobbies in Wairarapa yet.

"We are working through a checklist of things to do."

He expected the move was long term and would be keen to see his sons continue on to high schools in the area.

"We won't be going anywhere in a hurry."