Deb Hann
Senior Constable Deb Hann – On the Beat
Cambridge police have had a few good catches in the last week that are worthy of a mention.
Last week we received a report of a family harm incident in a vehicle at the south end of Lake Karāpiro. Police attended and found both people involved. The subsequent investigation saw a Hamilton male arrested for an assault on a person in a family relationship and sexual offending.
He is now before the courts. Soon after, police responded to another family harm incident in Leamington. A male was found to be in breach of an active Police Safety Order in addition to being wanted for four shoplifting offences across the Waikato. He was arrested and is also before the courts.
Next, over the weekend investigations identified a local man for two separate offences. He was arrested and charged with theft from a shop and burglary. Finally, earlier this week police received multiple calls regarding the driving behaviour of a vehicle heading into Cambridge from State Highway 1. This enabled us to stop it and speak with the driver, who returned a positive result for excess breath alcohol. She will be appearing before the courts. The calls to police almost certainly prevented a crash.
This week I wanted to talk a little about mental health. Mental Health Awareness Week is approaching, happening on September 18 -24. Police are regularly involved with people in mental health crisis. Most often, their disordered behaviour is reported by family, friends or associates rather than the person themselves. The person may however ask for help directly. If you believe a family member, friend or employee is experiencing delusions, is a threat to themselves or others, or you otherwise have concerns about their mental health, it is important that you seek help and highlight this behaviour.
It is sometimes unsafe to try and handle the situation by yourself. Reaching out for help has the benefit of mobilising support for the person involved, helping build a record of the pattern of their illness and behaviour and allowing a risk assessment around all involved. For urgent assistance, if the person is in crisis, call 111. Alternatively contact crisis team on 0800 50 50 50. You or the person themselves can phone or text 1737 to speak to a trained counsellor 24/7.
Yellow Brick Road (www.yellowbrickroad.org.nz) , who I have mentioned in past columns are able to provide support and advocacy for families of people dealing with mental illness. Visit https://mentalhealth.org.nz/helplines for further options. To find out how you, your workplace or organisation can spread awareness about mental health awareness week and to access and download a range of resources, visit www.mhaw.org.nz.
