Last Thursday evening I attended a briefing on the
Canterbury Youth Development Program and the Refocus Program. Both these
programs, headed up by Director,Mike Field and supported by a Board which I
have the privilege to be on with input from Sergeant Bevan Seal, have done a
remarkable job in Christchurch.
The Canterbury Youth Development Program looks after
young men who have gone off the rails and is busy putting them back on. Currently the program has dealt with young men who if they were in prison would
be costing $18,000 per person per month. When the program started Te Puna
Wai Youth Justice Residence was bulging with Canterbury youth, there are now around two young people
from Canterbury in Te Puna Wai Prison. The program has dealt with 85
young men since its inception and is currently running at a non-recidivist rate
of around 50%. Anything over 30% is regarded as World’s Best practice.
After that excellent presentation I spent the evening in an incident car with Sergeant Bevan Seal looking at what happens in night time Christchurch on a Thursday night. It was a real eye opener and certainly showed me the need for an effective police presence in our city and the incredibly demanding work carried out by our Police force in the interests of our community. The evening started off with a dispute between flat tenants which ended up with one tenant having his gear on the side of the road and the other tenant refusing to allow him back in the flat. We got that sorted with the disgruntled tenant moving on to a new flat.
We visited the temporary central Police Station and in
particular had a look at the control centre which covers the whole of the South
Island. The technological support is stunning and the speed at which
Police can respond to any incident all over the South Island reminded me
a little bit of an air traffic control centre with people juggling and
prioritising all of the activity and response that was occurring across the
South Island – most impressive. We also had a look at the Station as a
whole which is a pretty good temporary home for the Police until they get back
into the Justice Precinct.
We then visited a home for children and young adults who are
being looked after by the State. I had a very interesting discussion with
a young man who is part of the Canterbury Youth Development Program and really
appreciates the value it is creating for him. It has had a serious and
positive impact on his life. No sooner had we left that residential
address than we responded to a serious car accident in the University
Precinct. A high speed trip across town to ensure that we were on site to
see the driver who had done a “runner” being apprehended and his fellow
passengers, one of whom was the owner being cross examined. The accident involved
four cars and there was definitely alcohol involved.
Cruising around the city after that we responded with
urgency to a stabbing on the east side of town. This was a serious
incident involving a large turnout of Police and the alleged suspect was
apprehended with the stab victim being taken to hospital by the excellent St
John people. It was a messy and potentially explosive situation which was
extremely well handled by the Police. While that incident was being
attended to there was a further emergency call to an alleged threatening
drive-by on the east side of the city. We attempted to find the car involved
but then left that job to return to the other side of town. There were
several incidences in Manchester Street involving prostitutes misbehaviour and
accessing vacant buildings, which once again the Police responded to positively
and quickly.
While travelling from place to place we did some 'stop and
check' on vehicles that may have been non-road worthy, or drivers that evoked
suspicion. This was all handled in a highly professional way. All
in all an exciting night in the city and a very, very vivid experience of the
challenges faced by a tireless Police Force. For me it was a real lesson
in the impact of alcohol in our city at night. The only incident we
attended that did not directly involve alcohol was the visit to the young
peoples’ home. While we were attending our various incidents the Police
were being called to other activity right across the city mainly involving drugs,
alcohol and on several occasions apparent mental illness. Our
society is definitely troubled by excessive drinking. It was no surprise
to the Police that it was yet another night fuelled by alcoholic violence and
accidents driven by excessive alcoholic consumption.
