A night out with the Christchurch Community Patrol

On Saturday night, Lynda and John from Community Patrol New Zealand (CPNZ)'s Christchurch spent a shift with the City Parks branch.

 

Just before dark, the two patrollers started on the edge of the city's four avenues, where their new yellow and blue-clad Haval Jolion with all the bells  and whistles, is stored. A radio, for reporting to HQ every hour, flashing roof lights and side lights are all included in the arsenal.

 

The pair became volunteers through wanting to care for the community, and say others often do so as a pathway to becoming police officers.

CPNZ is run by volunteers, so patrols are not rostered or scheduled. Patrollers get to decide when they want to go out, and for how long. John and Lynda both say crime is becoming more prolific and new volunteers are always welcome.

 

"Our new applicants are tending to be more in the 20s to 40s range," Lynda says.

 

The pair agree it's nice to be getting some younger new volunteers. 

 

There are a few places that are compulsory to visit, but it is up to the driver to decide how to get there. Compulsory places include community spaces like churches, mosques, synagogues, temples and schools.

 

John says it is crucial to change routes and destinations for each outing, so as to become as unpredictable as possible. 

 

Observation and deterrence are the two tenets of community patrolling. The patrol's main job is to act as a presence to ward off would-be criminals. 

 

"We're limited in what we can do," he says.

 

"We've just got to observe, use the phone, use the radio, use the camera, to use these details for later on." 

Saturday night's patrol involves a drive through Linwood and Phillipstown before ending up at Edmonds Park, doing the rounds of the empty carpark and then driving north. 

 

On the way, Lynda hops out to take a photo of some large inorganic rubbish on the kerb. She says a lot of the patrolling is looking out for small stuff often overlooked, such as open car windows and expired regos.

The patrol is mostly funded by charitable donations collected at local pizza restaurants, vape shops, dairies and bottle shops. 

 

The group has more than 150 patrols nationwide, and last year volunteers travelled more than 1million km across the country keeping an eye on Aotearoa's communities, partnering with the police to ensure no street, car or community is overlooked.