Senior Constable Deb Hann – On the Beat
I hate to sound like a stuck record, but I really need everyone to spread the word around securing vehicles. Coming into work this morning, I have again been told of more cases where vehicles have been stolen, made a lot easier by the fact that they were unlocked.
We believe out of town offenders were involved and it may be an indication that Cambridge is getting a reputation as being a soft target – something against which we are always fighting. As the saying goes, Lock it or Lose it. Beyond personal loss however, every vehicle that offenders find unlocked contributes to our town being targeted and further victimisation. Let’s show criminals that we aren’t the weakest link.
Last week I highlighted the Commercial Vehicle Safety Team (CVST). In news from this team, two separate trucks from the same company were recently found to be carrying heavy loads – each a tonne overweight. Different materials of the same volume can weigh vastly different amounts, so simply filling the truck is not a good measure of load weight. Such loads cause damage to the roadways and affect the truck handling.
In this situation, the company is deemed liable and received fines accordingly. They are responsible for providing staff with mechanisms to be able to ensure load compliance.
The same CVST staff member was later travelling in an unmarked police car on the Kaimai Range when he caught a vehicle travelling 150kph in a 100kph passing lane. The Kaimai Range is often the scene of vehicle crashes. Such irresponsible, risky action is the type of behaviour that leads to increased road trauma.
The driver of the speeding vehicle had decided to race to overtake a friend and unknowingly, the Police car. He was stopped, his driver’s licence suspended for 28 days and he received an infringement for excess speed.
In good news, further to a recent article in this paper, Cambridge Bluelight is appreciative of all the support that we are receiving from Cambridge community. The response to the recent colouring in competition was excellent and the calibre of entries from all age groups was high. The Blue Edge programme is well underway at Cambridge Middle School and has a good following of enthusiastic students arriving to school very early twice a week for a programme of fitness, teamwork and guest speakers. Going forward, donations from our community and other funding sources will enable Cambridge Bluelight to sponsor youth to attend leadership camps and sea voyages, attend a Blue light fun day at Rainbow’s End and actively work to support all youth development.
Senior Constable Deb Hann and Dani Hibdige – looking after the successful Blue Light.
