Raetihi officer on duty

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 5, Issue 4, 23 June 1987, Page 1

Raetihi officer on duty

Constable Wayne Mills is Raetihi's temporary resident police officer until the permanent one arrives in early July. Constable Mills was transferred from Wanganui to Taihape last month but only stayed there about ten days before coming to Raetihi to fill in.

He has worked in Raetihi as a reliever before and said he would be happy to

stay on longer. One reason is to spend more time skiing but more importantly he says he likes the town and the people, though he says he has found Raetihi people to be a bit reserved at first. Raetihi had suffered a spate of break-ins before he arrived and after Trevor Pullen, Raetihi's previous police officer left. Constable Mills said he has been busy working at tracking down those responsible for the offences that have plagued the town recently. He has found children to be the main culprits. One ten year old boy has admitted responsibility for five burglaries. He said while the presence of a police officer in the town is very important there are other problems the town faces. "The kids don't have enough to do '

and too much spare time, you see kids wandering the streets at all hours of the night" he said, "there needs to be more control by parents." Another problem he sees is the lack of reporting on crimes, especially thefts and break-ins. "People tend not to report things until they go to their insurance company, sometimes five to six weeks after the event" said Constable Mills. He said that makes it very hard for the police to do anything about a theft. "There is no point in holding off, it only makes it harder for us" he said. The attitude that some people have of "I don't care if people thieve as long is it's not from me" is also a problem said Constable Mills. He believes that the people who hold that view are being short sighted, and that sooner or later they will become a victim. "The town can crack down on crime if they want to, the locals know who is committing the offences" he said.