Whau Local Board and Avondale Police are welcoming the launch of a new initiative that will see a group of wardens patrolling across hot spots and town centres in the Whau area.
The Whau Pacific Wardens is a joint project between Whau Local Board, Auckland City West Police, Council (CEU) and the local Pacific community group, Walking Samoans.
It aims to help provide a safe, reassuring presence on the ground in the Whau area.
The project has been in development for the last 10 months, with 16 pacific volunteers vetted and trained by Police and Auckland Council.
Engaging with communities
“Pacific wardens are admired and known for providing a reassuring approach in engaging with communities”, says Whau Local Board Chair Tracy Mulholland.
“They often provide a calming effect and a highly visible presence and have been proven to be very popular in engaging with youth and promoting an ambassadorial role when deployed.
“This is one step contained within the board’s recently launched Whau Pacific People’s Plan, which is a plan to help us better connect with our Pacific community.
"It was developed in conjunction with the community and contains a number of short, medium and long-term recommendations to help us meet the needs of a growing Pacific community”, she says.
Dawn of a new day
Inspector Grant Tetzlaff, Area Commander for Auckland City West, welcomes the new initiative starting out in Avondale.
It plays an important part with the Police Pasifika strategy, O Le Taeao Fou – Dawn of a New Day, launched at the end of last year.
“We are thrilled the initiative has got to where it has today – the Whau Pacific Wardens are really important to Policing in the Avondale area,” says Inspector Tetzlaff.
“Nearly 20 per cent of the Whau is Pasifika. So we see this as helping to build partnerships between the Police and Pasifika communities.
“A big part of the overall Police strategy is to be safe and feel safe – and working with the Pasifika community will help ensure that.”
Inspector Tetzlaff says he encourages everyone in the Avondale area to greet the wardens out on patrol and get to know them.
Funding
Funding for the initiative has come from Whau Local Board, while some additional funding has come from the New Zealand Police Managers’ Guild.
Police communities staff based at Avondale Station will work closely with the Whau Pacific Wardens to ensure they are vetted and are given training.
