Nelson-based policing model for Motueka criticised

March 2nd, 2016
[by David Armstrong]

Nelson-based police chiefs defended the current policing model for the district in the face of numerous criticisms and complaints at a public meeting in Motueka last night.

More than 100 locals, including many of the town's community leaders, attended the meeting, meaning that it had to be moved from the Memorial Hall supper room to the main hall.

The audience listened attentively while recently appointed Area Commander Mat Arnold-Kelly (pictured right) outlined issues that police face in a rapidly changing society to provide the service expected by the community.

Mat then heard from numerous people, mostly expressing their frustration and sometimes anger that their requests for service had left them dissatisfied. Judging from the frequent murmurs of agreement from the audience and occasional applause, these were not isolated incidents.

The meeting was arranged by Motueka Community Board chairman Paul Hawkes and board member David Ogilvie, and was attended by five senior police from Nelson and one local staff member. Also present were Tasman District Mayor Richard Kempthorne and Tasman West Coast MP Damien O'Connor, as well as all four members of the Community Board and Councillor Peter Canton.

Introducing the meeting, Paul said the purpose was for the police chiefs to hear directly from the Motueka public about their concerns, as well as to supply information about crime statistics and especially resolution rates.

He asked that those speaking should refrain from getting into personal issues with police, although as the meeting progressed it became apparent that this was going to be hard to avoid.

One recurrent theme was response times to phone calls to the police, which were often diverted to call centres in Wanaka or Wellington. This included confusion over whether to dial 111 or the local police station for reporting different types of crimes or asking for help.

Several people spoke passionately about their poor experiences related to a lack of (or inadequate) response during frightening situations such as burglars in their house.

Mat said new call centre software had been installed recently and there had been teething problems, but now it is operating far better.

He also acknowledged openly that sometimes the police got it wrong, but they try hard to learn from such experiences.

He said policing has changed significantly over the past 20 years while he has been in the police service. In particular, social media is having a huge effect. "Criminals are changing and police have to change to keep up."

He said measures taken over the past four years for the Nelson Tasman area show that the average response time on 111 calls is much the same, but crime resolution rates are declining here, although this is also the case nationwide.

In Motueka, crimes related to damage of property and burglary have risen about 12% over that time, while crimes against persons has dropped slightly.

Of significant interest was the comment that calls for service from Motueka have almost doubled over the past five years, and since September 2015 there has been a surge in such calls, which is just starting to die off now.

One person said that while these statistics were helpful, real local people are not experiencing what Mat said should reassure them about average levels of service.

One ex-policeman in the audience spoke for a while scathingly criticising the policing model - with the services and resources centred and managed in Nelson - which Mat and his team are working under. He said the model simply is not working.

Mat responded that policing has changed so much in recent years, and he defended the model as being the correct one for modern times.

Damien O'Connor spoke for a few minutes, stating that the difficulties that police face is not their own fault, but is the result of the politicians who don't supply adequate funding and resources for the work, and effectively impose on them an operational model which is not working.

"Motueka people are not feeling secure, that is the local situation," he said. "The system is not working for this [Motueka] area. It's not Mat's fault, he has to work with what he's given.

In this writer's experience, this was the largest attendance at a public meeting in Motueka since one held six years ago to debate the lack of progress on a town bypass highway.

The issue is clearly of great concern for many people. When the article announcing this meeting was published on Motueka Online's Facebook page, a record number of people viewed and shared the item.

Within 48 hours of the post, over 2000 people had viewed it, a number which rose to just over 3000 people by the time of the meeting just over a week later.

Some of the audience pictured listening to the police team

Comment by Matt Beech:
[Posted 5 March 2016]

I would suspect this is another case of Mat, the 'messenger, being shot'. It's all too easy for this to happen even when the messenger is only delivering on things that have been given him by others 'further up the tree' How would any of us manage to 'fill his shoes' if we given the same? Much fear and frustration, but what of a considered response from the hearers who 'vented their spleen' at the meeting?

Comment by Beth Bryant:
[Posted 6 March 2016]

I'd like to point out that the government is stating that it wants more people to live in the provinces. People need to feel safe. It should be noted that people who live in cities use gold card for many free services - services which we do not have here - eg buses, taxi, ferry (eg Waiheke ferry is $20 per time) etc etc.

Surely this large saving from the regions could be used for better policing for safer communities. In addition, this community is adding a good deal to overseas funds, with many visitors coming here to play. The government needs to follow up on services if it is indeed serious about encouraging people to live in the regions.

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