Rolleston Community Patrol spokesman Moneel Pratap says crime is on the rise in the city and in Selwyn in general.
But Sergeant Anna Lloyd said there was nothing to indicate a significant increase in crime. Police had responded to “isolated incidents” in Rolleston, she said.
Police data shows that crime in Rolleston rose monthly from around 900 incidents in June 2020 to a peak of around 1,400 in mid-2021, before declining to around 1,200 in May this year.
But Pratap, the patrol’s fundraising manager, said crime has increased in Rolleston in the three years he’s lived in the city.
Pratrap’s concerns come as the community patrol is looking for more volunteers and drivers.
A meeting was held last week at Te Ara Ātea Rolleston’s library and community center to discuss whether they could join Community Patrols of New Zealand, an umbrella group that supports volunteer patrols across the country.
The district is already served by Selwyn Community Patrol. But with its growing population, the city needed its own patrol, Pratap said.
Rolleston Community Patrol, a registered charity, has received grants for operating expenses, including a patrol vehicle.
Pratap said there was an increase in bullying of children in parks and that the recent gang shooting had upset people.
Pratap said that while there were no immediate solutions to crime, the community patrol tried to work with police to ensure Selwyn remained one of the safest districts in the country.
Lloyd said the shooting was not random.
“That was a very specifically targeted incident between people who were already known to the police anyway, so the threat to the community in general was very low,” she said.
“I understand it makes people nervous and they want to know what’s going on. If we thought there was a risk to the wider community, we would definitely be on top of that, but these are pretty specific incidents that we’re talking about.”
Bullying was an ongoing problem in communities and local schools dealt with it well, Lloyd said.
“I can think of an incident that happened recently in a local park and it came up on the community’s Facebook page. And that was definitely treated as a police matter.”
A perception of an increase in crime in the city was fueled by comments on social media, including Facebook community pages.
Said Lloyd: “It can be a great tool, but the most important thing is” [with crime] is that we need to be aware of this so we can look at the evidence rather than just this for free for all that can happen on social media.
“Because what causes that is a problem of appearing much bigger than it really is. And it removes… the specific risk indicators – and it makes people anxious when they really don’t need to.”
-By Tim Fulton