Senior Constable Deb Hann – On the Beat
In my column, I like to give you a snapshot of the types of crimes that are keeping us busy, good catches and arrests made by the Cambridge and Te Awamutu teams.
It is true that police can spend a lot of our shift responding to 111 calls for assistance. In most cases these calls come from members of the public being either directly victim of or witness to a crime. We can equally be called upon by other agencies or emergency services requiring our assistance.
This week, I want to look at the other tasks keeping us busy and the community safe, when we are not attending such jobs.
During day shifts, besides 111 calls, we assist with crimes that are reported in person to the station. You will also however find us out walking the beat. This is a good opportunity to connect with our community whilst also acting as a deterrent to would be shoplifters.
Policing is often about being in the right place at the right time. Where crime patterns are observed, we will also conduct targeted proactive mobile patrols in areas presenting as hotspots at hot times for burglary or car crime, again to deter and apprehend offenders and gather information.
Whenever patrolling, we are also looking to enforce the traffic laws including through checkpoints.
Bail checks are another daily occurrence. When a person is facing criminal charges, they may be released on court bail conditions pending their next hearing.
These almost always include a residential condition and may include a curfew. A curfew is put in place requiring the bailee to remain at home, typically this would be set during the time frames in which they have previously been committing crime. A police bail check may be conducted by an officer anytime between the curfew hours, to ensure compliance.
The person on bail (bailee) must be home and present themselves to police at the front door. Curfews are most commonly in place overnight, but can be 24hrs – both require regular checks.
If you think that keeps us busy, you’d be right. Sometimes however we are at the station, as there is always case work to be done. Each investigation requires enquiry work, phone calls, statements and follow up.
Our resulting arrests then require detailed file preparation for court. Altogether, the nature of policing ensures no two days are ever the same, which is one of the reasons we enjoy it.
