Policing throughout the western world is changing from the heavy punitive action of "Fire Brigade" policing (i.e. responding to crime after it has been committed), to the more preventative approach, where we use historically gathered intelligence to identify social and community issues which may be contributing to the problem. Then, using the assistance of partner organisations such as Safer CHB, Ministry of Social Development, Housing NZ, endeavour to put programs in place to assist these communities to rise above the issues which are dogging them.

Don't get me wrong, we still have zero tolerance toward anti-social behavior, and our courts are still busy every day, but we envisage that, over time, we can get these numbers down thereby making our communities safer places to live.

So far in CHB, we have made good progress on this front, starting with driver mentoring. Our officer's have all expressed frustration over issuing fines to the same unlicenced drivers over and over again. These people are all capable drivers but either can't afford the considerable cost of the test, are not confident of passing thereby having to find the money for a retest, or don't have a road legal car to undertake the test in the first place.

Police along with partner agencies have innitiated a program which asists in getting these drivers to a standard where they are likely to pass their test and become legal on our roads. The spin-offs from this program are considerable, e.g. better qualified for employment, far fewer fines owing therefore more money in the pocket, boost in self-esteem.

We have also been working on one of our residential area's which has obtained a less than desirable reputation. Things are still in the planning stage, but the goal is to help the residents to take ownership of their community and take responsibility for the wellbeing and safety of their community.

Otherwise we have had a reasonably quiet few weeks on the crime front. That is no reason to let your guard down, if you see something suspicious in your neighbourhood, let us know, we will be only too happy to check it out for you. If you are aware of any criminal activity going on, or have any information of interest to us e.g. drug dealing, someone receiving stolen property etc. you can call CRIMESTOPPERS on 0800 555111 or go online www.crimestoppers-nz.org, It's guaranteed confidential.