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Takapuna, Milford, Castor Bay, Forrest Hill and Sunnynook VERED FORTNIGHTLY AN INDEPENDENT VOICE Issue 1 – 15 March 2019
TNIGHTLY DELIVERED FORTNIGHTLY AN2019 INDEPENDENT VOICE AN INDEPENDENT VOICE Issue 163 – Oct 31, 2025 Issue 1 – 15 March 2019 Issue 1 – 15 March
VERED FORTNIGHTLY
Issue 1 – 15 March 2019 Most of new local board Takapuna legal identity keen on being chair... p5 signs off... p8-9
AN INDEPENDENT VOICE
Hammer time at the PumpHouse... p14-15
Beat squad boosts Takapuna police presence
Beat cops will return to the streets of Takapuna from Monday next week. A dedicated team of six constables and a sergeant will bolster the North Shore police presence from 3 November, adding to the work of the six-strong community policing team already based at the Anzac St station. Acting Inspector Tim Williams, who is Prevention Manager for Waitematā East (the North Shore Policing Area), said curtailing retail crime and violence in public places would be priorities for the new beat team. It would also engage with the community and provide visible reassurance. The aim is to lower crime statistics and build public confidence and trust in police. “We’re really focused on holding people to account,” he said, as had been directed from a national level. For many years routine beat patrols have been a lower police priority. The new beat team, led by Sergeant Shane Bainbridge, who is transferring from the Takapuna community team, will operate flexibly across three main North Shore town centres: Takapuna, Glenfield and Albany. Members will normally work in pairs, across early and late shifts and on all days of the week. “We don’t want them to be tied up in the police station. Yes, they’ll arrest people, but not be bogged down on paperwork,” said Williams. “We want them to talk to the shopkeepers and say hi to people on the street.” Takapuna was a focus because it was a metropolitan centre and a transport hub. Williams, who spoke to the Observer just days after an aggravated burglary at a Takapuna bar (see story, page 2), said the North
Dual effort... Constable Siobhan Campbell of Takapuna’s existing community police team with new beat team member Constable Ben Heap, who will be out on patrol with his colleagues from next month Shore was actually “very safe” compared with other North Island police districts and behind only Rodney in crimes per 10,000 people in Auckland. Serious incidents were “sporadic”, he said. Vehicle crime and burglaries in the area were down this year. A recent focus on prosecuting store thefts meant that since June fewer such offences were being reported.
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But he acknowledged residents’ concerns about anti-social activity and increased homelessness. “It’s not just about being safe, it’s about feeling safe.” The police have briefed local groups recently. Attendees included the Takapuna Residents Association and Takapuna Beach Business Association (TBBA), which had To page 2