Public support pleases police

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 510, 2 November 1993, Page 1

Public support pleases police

Ohakune Police Sergeant Bob Evans, is pleased with the public support given a recent neighbourhood support drive undertaken in the Waimarino. The information

pamphlets entitled 'Neighbours - Your First Line of Support' were deIivered to most Waimarino mailboxes last month. From the drive, a total Of four neighbourhood support

groups were established - three in Raetihi and one in Ohakune. The establishment of a second group in Ohakune is currently under way. The establishment of several rural groups is also under discussion, in an effort to curtail the numerous incidences of

break-ins and burglaries of ruraladdresses. Self help A self-help plan for neighbours who want to contribute to crime reduction was also launched by New Zealand's Commissioner of Police during last month' s 'Neighbour's Week'. The 13-point plan aimed to provide guidance to people who wanted to play an active role in crime prevention.

Over the years police advice has centred on asking people to simply observe and report crime, tighten up security at home and set up neighbourhood support groups. The self-help plan outlines the steps people can take to help reduce crime in their own locality. As well as commonsense crime prevention measures such as forming neighbourhood support groups and securing the home, the plan outlined other actions including observation techniques, Turn to page 9

S&R exercise "almost the real thing"

From page 3 A search and rescue exercise at Horopito, attended by police officials and volunteers from the Wanganui district, almost turned into the real thing for one searcher on the weekend. Denis Rainforth of the Wanganui Tramping Club had to be winched out of the search area by an RNZAF helicopter after injuring his ankle early in the exercise. Mr Rainforth said he walked for a further 3-4 hours after slipping in a river bed, before he was forced to radio for assistance. Luckily, the two

'victims' - Waimarino Search and Rescue volunteers Noel Shepherd and Ron Hope - were located on time by search teams and transported safely back to the search head quarters located on farmer Brent Bishop's Horopito property. Around 100 people were involved in the exercise, including police and army personnel, Turoa Skifield staff and members of S & R groups from as far afield as Taumarunui and Marton. The search area covered 140 square kilometres of sub-alpine terrain described by co-

ordinators as densely wooded and difficult. Search co-ordinator, Constable Greg Phillips, acknowledged the assistance of Army Training Group personnel and the help of SgtMajor Paul Lumsden, for their part in setting up the field base and the use of army resources. Apart from a technical hitch - the RNZAF helicopter used to drop off and extract the teams developed an electrical fault and was rendered inoperable - the exercise went without a hitch, according to Mr Phillips. The final two search teams who were awaiting

pick-up in the bush when the helicopter malfunctioned managed to make it on foot to an access road where they were transported the rest of the way by vehicle. The entire group was de-briefed midday Sunday which concluded the two day exercise.