With the holiday season soon to be in full swing, the message is again one of protecting yourself from opportunistic crime, socialising sensibly and driving safely.
Deb Hann – Senior Constable at the Cambridge Farmers’ Market. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
This week we have had a few reported burglaries, including where Christmas presents were taken, both from homes and in a vehicle.
Christmas presents like any other valuable item, when visible, attract the attention of passing dishonesty offenders. In doing so, they make your car and house more likely to be targeted.
Remove any valuable items from your car and obscure Christmas present placement with regards to a passerby’s view of your home. If having courier parcels delivered, leave instructions for them to be placed out of sight. Invest in CCTV if possible as this can be a deterrent and equally provides valuable evidence of crimes if committed. Lock your doors, don’t advertise your absence and generally be security conscious whether at home or away.
In the past week, between Cambridge and Te Awamutu police, we dealt with three drink drivers.
If you plan on socialising and will be drinking alcohol, leave the car at home and organise alternative transportation. If you are the sober driver for friends, stay sober – and don’t drive if that changes.
If you see someone about to drive when intoxicated, step in. If you can’t prevent them driving, ring 111 with vehicle details, the identity of the driver, direction of travel and their intended destination if known.
And talking of driving, our traffic staff are urging all to exercise patience when it comes to travel in the holiday period. In the past week prior to writing, between Cambridge and Te Awamutu, we have had 17 traffic crashes. This at a time when holiday traffic is nowhere near their peak.
Allowing extra time into your journey reduces stress and prevents bad driving decisions that can have long lasting impacts. Take regular breaks, maintain a decent following distance, don’t speed and drive to the conditions.
Remember to also ensure all in the vehicle are wearing their seatbelts. If you see dangerous driving likely to cause a crash, ring 111. If possible, have a passenger take a video of the bad driving behaviour to provide to police.
To end, this is my last column of 2024. Thank you to everyone who has taken their time to read my contributions over the past 12 months.
I hope you have found the information I have provided to be helpful and interesting. Have a safe and relaxing Christmas and New Year.
Senior Constable Deb Hann – On the Beat
