Helping the settlers settle

Palmerton North’s Ethnic Communities Project is making great strides toward building and cementing relationships with a diverse range of ethnic groups.

As a centre for the national refugee resettlement programme, Palmerston North has more than 200 different ethnicities.

Migrants and ethnic groups comprise around 10 percent of the local population.

Many of the new migrants arrive with a distrust of police and government agencies, based on their homeland experiences.

Palmerston North Area Commander, Inspector Pat Handcock, says police now play an important part, alongside partner agencies, to help migrants and refugees settle into and become safe members of the community.

“We have a very, very diverse community and have worked solidly for the past two years to build relationships,” says Pat.

This ensures police are part of the programme to familiarise any new migrant groups or refugees with Palmerston North.

Earlier this year a group of Congolese were the first refugees to come to Palmerston North.

“Once they were settled and housed, we got them into the police station for a day to familiarise them with the workings of New Zealand Police,” says Pat.

Forty refugees from Myanmar – formerly Burma – will soon settle in Palmerston North. The success of the Congolese visit will be repeated for this group.

“Our overall philosophy in our policing plan is prevention, enforcement and partnerships,” says Pat.

“And of course the ethnic communities safety project is very much about prevention and partnerships.”