By Deb Thurgood
Hello everyone, I am so excited to be down into level 2 with the extra freedoms that brings. I am sure that most, will be feeling a bit of relief.
As you know, effective Crime Prevention and Investigation is always a joint effort between police and the community. We had one such example of that earlier this week.
A person decided to help herself to several sale items from a clothing rack outside one of our shops. Her actions drew the attention of a nearby member of the public, who had the presence of mind to follow her a short distance and note down the registration of the vehicle in which she left. Police were called and through local knowledge, one of our constables recalled an address at which the same vehicle had recently been seen.
CCTV footage from the store provided clear identification of the appearance of the person. Staff attended the address in question and long story short, all of the stolen items were recovered. The female is now before the courts for this matter. Thanks to the swift action of all involved, we undoubtedly curtailed this person’s activities that day. The full incident took approximately 30 minutes to resolve – excellent work all round.
Another exciting development of late is the start that has been made to construction of the new Cambridge police base. The site is on the corner of Fort and Victoria streets and was for many years the location of a police house. This location is perfectly in the heart of our town, providing easy access to Leamington, the CBD and Cambridge East. A joint venture between police and Tainui Group Holdings, the purpose-built design of the building will provide a base that acknowledges the local area, tangata whenua and our town’s unique architectural character. The new police base is due for completion mid-2022. Watch for more information on this soon.
On another topic, I am pleased to have been invited to meet members of the Lee Martin Road area for a rural crime prevention meeting next Thursday. Our Neighbourhood Support Group Community Engagement officer, Eileen Hawkins will be joining me, and we look forward to meeting the locals there. A separate meeting is being organised with the Forrest Road Neighbourhood Support Group in the near future.
If you do not have a Neighbourhood Support Group in your street or rural road, I encourage you to do so. A Neighbourhood Support Group links your neighbourhood into a wider network providing crime prevention tips as well as local information. Full details are available at www.safercambridge.co.nz or by emailing [email protected]
Until next week, stay vigilant, report anything suspicious that you see and definitely report any crime! Deb
Lee Martin Road
