Cyclone Gabrielle has certainly hit the country with force. I know that many of you were affected directly, locally with fallen trees, power outages and slips or indirectly having friends or family displaced elsewhere in the North Island.
I hope everyone has come through safely. It is at times like this that a strong sense of community comes to the fore. We are lucky to have organisations such as Civil Defence and Neighbourhood Support who work to prepare for, respond and manage such emergencies. It is a reminder of the importance to be prepared ourselves, for example having extra non-perishable food supplies, water, a battery powered radio, medical supplies, a back-up UPS for critical equipment (for example medical, security) .
If weather warnings are issued it is helpful to also prepare a ‘go bag’ of family essentials to take with you in the event of a sudden evacuation.
While the cyclone has been forefront of everyone’s minds, our criminals haven’t stopped.
We have had a bit of a change in vehicle theft type in recent weeks. I have highlighted motorcycles and trailers. In the past month however, seven utility vehicles have been stolen in Cambridge. Two burglaries just this week each targeted two utes, but while ignitions were pulled in all cases, they only got away with one. One offender or group of offenders will often be responsible for a high volume of incidents, feeding into a network of receivers (those people who exchange drugs or money for stolen goods and sell or trade them onward).
Identifying features such as registration plates and VIN plates are commonly removed from stolen vehicles and in some cases a completely new vehicle identity is fabricated. The more information and photographic evidence you have of distinguishing marks, damage, customisations or modifications made to vehicles you own, the better.
Still on the topic of vehicles, I’d like to remind you about driving behaviour around schools. Schools are always high traffic volume areas for drop off and pick up times. We then have the added risk of children on foot, scooters and bikes, not all of whom are paying attention to their surroundings.
Please keep your speed to the lower 40 kph limit around schools and be aware of parking restrictions. No parking zones are in place for a reason, often to ensure clear visibility for pedestrian crossings, so do not park on them. I have also been asked to remind the community that bus stops do not constitute a drop off zone.
Until next week, stay safe and report anything suspicious.
