Watchdog security staff member Jerome Morgan (left) and Ellen-Jane Tahitahi Macpherson (right) with Dancing Scissors owner Shahnaz Safarzadegan. Photo / Mead Norton
Watchdog security staff member Jerome Morgan (left) and Ellen-Jane Tahitahi Macpherson (right) with Dancing Scissors owner Shahnaz Safarzadegan. Photo / Mead Norton
Every day Shahnaz Safarzadegan goes to work in fear of aggressive and intimidating behaviour. Now a new security app has given Rotorua’s Dancing Scissors salon owner hope she can stay safe.
The GPS-based Pocket Watchdog, was developed by Rotorua Business Chamber and Watchdog Security. Watchdog chief executive Brett Wilson said it aimed to improve safety for businesses and the public at a time when police, in his view, were overworked and under-resourced.
The app - featuring a panic button that alerts security - cost $12 a month and provides 24/7 service in areas with cellphone reception.
Rotorua Business Chamber members are among those who have been affected by intimidation and aggressive behaviour in the Rotorua CBD.
Safarzadegan (Shaz) said she’d had to deal with thieves, intimidation and aggression.
she was in her Tutanekai St salon alone when a man tried to open the door from the wrong end and became angry when he failed.
He began shouting and pounding on the glass. She hoped he would move on but he refused to leave, instead stripping off his clothes or leaning against the door. She said he blocked her way out for hours.
The hairstylist claimed she called the police but, as she could not see a weapon, was told no one would come to help.
Instead, she had to wait until a passing friend saw her in trouble and asked security staff nearby to help. They spoke with the man who left shortly after.
Rotorua Business Chamber chief executive Bryce Heard (left) with Dancing Scissors owner Shahnaz Safarzadegan and Watchdog Security chief executive Brett Wilson. Photo / Mead Norton
Other instances included people trying to pay with library cards, and Safarzadegan had stopped stocking the shelves close to the door. Occasionally people would saunter in and demand a haircut, right then and there, immediately aggressive, she said.
“If I didn’t have a mortgage I would close down.”
The app had given her some confidence and hope.
Chamber members get a discount on the price. Chief executive Bryce Heard said members had been calling for help.
“It’s about community safety ... make people feel secure.”
Wilson said some retailers were targeted three or four times a week by thieves.
App users can hit a panic button, which alerts the security company of issues in real time.
They will be able to see the location and the user’s custom escalation plan. The operator will follow those instructions, calling the device or emergency contacts.
If they can not be reached secondary contacts are called and, failing that or if requested by a contact or user, a security officer and emergency services are dispatched.
Police Senior Sergeant Mike Membery encouraged members of the public to call 111 in life-threatening situations.
Rotorua area commander inspector Herby Ngawhika said police were
unable to attend when called to Tutanekai St on February 15,but camera operators monitored the situation.
“The call taker gave advice to ring back if the situation escalated, which the caller did some 10 minutes later. The caller was again given advice and asked to call back if the man’s behaviour worsened.”
He said there were, unfortunately, instances where non-life-threatening matters were reported but were unable to be responded to immediately due to other demands on staff.
“Rotorua’s police officers are committed to investigating matters that are reported to us and holding offenders accountable, but I realise there are times when that doesn’t happen in the timeframe expected of us.”
He said many people at the centre of the complaints were suffering a wide range of welfare issues and police tried to use alternative resolutions and referrals to partner agencies to get specialist help. The aim was to engage, educate, encourage and learn from interactions and on some occasions enforcement action was appropriate.
Police were working alongside partner agencies to try to understand - and find long-term solutions for - these complex social issues, he said.
“We want our community to feel safe and be safe and our officers work hard and put in long hours to try to achieve that.”
1 People could call 111 if it was an emergency happening now, or 105 or go online to make a report after the fact.
