I hope everyone enjoyed the long Easter weekend and managed to get a break. Unfortunately, opportunist criminals sometimes see holiday weekends as a great time to commit more crime.
Ford Courier utes seem to be a target currently. If you own one, please ensure you take all prudent measures to secure and alarm it and ensure keys are kept in a separate location and that your homes are also secure. CCTV is great.
Senior Constable Deb Hann – On the Beat
In good news, last Tuesday, two female offenders stole items totalling over $2000 value from Briscoes Cambridge. They were quickly identified and a coordinated police effort saw both women arrested in Te Awamutu. The stolen items were recovered and both women are now before the courts.
Today I’d also like to touch on the issue of family harm. In the last month, we received 38 family harm call outs – the vast majority of which related to separate incidents. Family harm offending doesn’t begin at physical assault, rather it is something that escalates over time. A cycle usually starts with a power imbalance manifested through verbal and psychological abuse and controlling behaviour. It is intervention at this stage that can prevent escalation to property or physical harm.
So, what does that early behaviour look like? It could be emotional abuse (put downs, making the partner think they are crazy, blaming them for everything, humiliating them or making them feel guilty), economic abuse (total control of the household income, making the partner ask for money), exclusion (isolating them from friends and family, deciding who the partner sees , where they go) or psychological abuse (using threats of violence, threatening to leave the partner or hurt themselves if they are left, threatening to expose the partner’s private information). If these behaviours are familiar in your own relationship or that of someone you know, reach out for a chat.
Cambridge has a lot of support available. Cambridge Community House 07 8275402 can provide counselling and wraparound support. Waipa Waitomo Women’s Refuge can be contacted on 0800 733 843. If there is immediate threat of harm to person or property, call 111.
Lastly, a couple of reminders. A few weeks ago, I discussed the road works that are going on around town with regard to adherence to detours and patience.
Sadly, we still have drivers going the wrong way down the one way system currently in place on Wilson Street. This causes confusion for other drivers and at worst could lead to a crash. Another thing that can lead to a crash is speed. Speeds are definitely creeping up again on Thornton Road and Browning Street.
Let’s focus on road safety in Cambridge.
