Policeman for Raetihi

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 5, Issue 2, 9 June 1987, Page 1

Policeman for Raetihi

A relieving policeman will be assigned to Raetihi tomorrow if Mayor Garrick Workman's request is met by the Wanganui District Police Headquarters. Concern has been expressed by Mayor Workman and the business community about the increase in offences since the departure of Raetihi's constable Trevor Pullen late last month. "Obviously there are a number of people who are taking advantage of the situation" said Mayor Workman. Trevor Pullen, who was transferred to Fairlie in the South Island, is to be replaced but no permanent appointment has yet been made. "Everyone knows the town is without a policeman and it doesn't take long to realise that it takes 10-15 minutes for the police from Ohakune to respond to a call in an emergency," he said. There have been a series of incidents in the town since its only policeman left (see Police File p.14). Over the weekend $85 cash was stolen from a house in Grey Street. In the early hours of Saturday morning (4.45am) intruders broke the locks on a protective metal grill over the windows of McLeans bookshop in Seddon Street before smashing the glass and making off with items of jewellery to the value of several hundred dollars. At 1am on Sunday morning the front door of Dekker Machinery in Seddon Street was kicked in but the intruders ran off empty-handed when the alarm was set off. The situation was intolerable, said Mayor Workman ... the delay resulting from police having to drive from Ohakune to Raetihi (11 kms) was a vital factor in whether or not the criminals were apprehended. "The town needs two permanent police staff because the workload was too heavy for a single constable and it was because of this heavy 24-hour workload in a sole-responsibility police station that staff were transferring out of town," he said. When the Bulletin spoke with him yesterday Garrick Workman said that he was hopeful that a relieving constable would be seconded to the township until a permanent replacement was appointed. As to a second permanent constable (which Raetihi had until 1983) he was seeking to obtain a decision from the Wanganui District Police Commander today.