Canterbury Police will be hosting the Smile Couch from 16 May until 27 May.
The Smile Couch is an initiative of the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce (CECC) and is part of the Start with a Smile campaign, which aims to make the many thousands of people who have moved to Christchurch since the earthquakes feel welcome. This is symbolised by the Couch which encourages people to take a seat and get to know the other person seated there.
Canterbury Police see this as the perfect opportunity for visitors to the station to get to know members of Police on a more human level.
Not only will Police employees be participating, but also other members of the community who will take the opportunity to get to know their neighbours.
Canterbury District Manager for Maori, Pacific and Ethnic Services, Inspector Hirone Waretini, believes that this initiative fits right in with the vision of NZ Police.
“Our vision is to gain the trust and confidence of all within our communities and one way to do that is to enable our people to have casual and friendly conversations with visitors. We understand that coming to a police station can be daunting for some people, and that people who visit a station are sometimes not there for happiest of reasons. Having something positive like this could certainly help put some of our visitors at ease,” says Inspector Waretini.
Employees from all parts of the Police will take part at various times, as will people from other organisations.
“This idea came to us from our Ethnic Liaison Officer, Constable Phil Goto. He saw it's potential and we agreed. This is a great initiative.”
You can read more about the Start with a Smile campaign on the CECC website: http://www.cecc.org.nz/start-with-a-smile
ENDS
District Commander John Price and/or Canterbury Metro Commander Lane Todd will be welcoming Lana Hart from CECC on Monday 16 May at 10.30 am so any media wishing to cover this should be available at that time.
All enquiries to Inspector Hirone Waretini 021 190 5614.