For 19 years the Nelson Community Patrol has been keeping an eye on Nelson and now it needs another few sets of eyes to help out.
The group was rewarded for its efforts at the Trustpower Community Awards last week and coordinator Ange Herbert says it’s incredibly rewarding being a part of the group.
The patrol was established in 1994 after the murder of Kevin O’Laughlin in Montgomery Square car park. Since then it has undergone several name changes but kept to its core role of providing police with an extra set of eyes and ears. The group is supported by Nelson Police and Nelson City Council and has three volunteers working every Friday and Saturday.
Ange says they have around 30 volunteers but they’d like another six or seven and volunteers can either patrol in the car or monitor the city’s security cameras, which are viewed at police headquarters.
John Wyllie says he got involved after his daughter was assaulted in the city one night and says he wanted to make a difference. “When that happened I thought ‘this isn’t the city I grew up in’ and decided to do what I could to help.”
He says the job – from 10.30pm until 3.30am – is exciting and rewarding. “It’s good when you know that you’ve played a part in keeping someone safe or helping the police catch someone that’s done something wrong.”
To find out more contact Ange on 027 618 1404 or angeherbert@yahoo.co.nz.
