Canterbury police get amongst the community

March was a busy month for police in the Canterbury community, following hot on the heels of their highly successful Ethnic Football Tournament.

Inca cultural event

More than 150 people from Asian, Pacific and Mäori communities attended the Christchurch Central Station recently to enjoy a performance by internationally renowned South American musicians and local kapa haka group, Te Kotahitanga.

“It was the first time many of these communities would have been into a police station for just a friendly social event and it broke down many of the perceptions people had,” says Canterbury Asian Liaison Officer, Constable Rakesh Naidoo. 

Constable Rakesh Naidoo, Asian Liaison Officer, greets a member of the
South American Inca group with a hongi.

Building confidence
'Pa Wars' is an annual top town type event involving Banks Peninsula’s five Marae. Aimed at building confidence, Police took part in the family and community event this year alongside more than 400 people.

“People realise we are not there just to police them,” says Canterbury Iwi Liaison Officer, Timoti Riwaka. 

“There’s good mutual respect and this creates an opportunity for us to target specific crime and crash reduction projects.”

Wairewa Marae members compete in the confidence building Pa Wars event.

Stopping distance display for foreign students
Several hundred foreign students crowded along the edges of a city street near Christchurch Polytechnic to see first-hand a Christchurch City Council and Police stopping distance display.

Professional drivers and police demonstrated the distance a driver needs to allow to stop safely.

Christchurch Road Policing Manager, Inspector Derek Erasmus, says many of the students come from societies and cultures where they have varying road conditions and some have never learnt to drive a vehicle.

“When they arrive in New Zealand it’s easy for them to buy a vehicle but the awareness of traffic and how to drive are not so easy to understand,” he says.

“This is a very graphic illustration of what happens if you speed, or do not drive to the conditions.”

A crash scene re-enactment by the NZ Fire Service and St Johns, complete with eager volunteers from the audience, demonstrated how people have to be freed from a vehicle involved in a serious crash.

This was followed by a presentation from the Police Serious Crash Unit on tips for driving safely in New Zealand.

Displays and information about driving were available in a range of languages.

A Police Booze Bus was also on display for students to walk through and learn about drinking and driving.

Recent graduate Constable Alex Liu, talks with foreign language students

The stopping distance display provides a graphic example of what can happen.