Auckland City police have welcomed Auckland City’s formation of the Law and Order Committee, which will work closely with them to reduce crime in the city.

At the first meeting of the committee yesterday, Police Superintendent District Commander Howard Broad said he was “extremely pleased” the council was on board in the fight against crime. He said it showed the council was taking crime prevention seriously.

In a report to the council, Mr Broad said both the council and the police had mandates to improve the quality of life of the citizens of Auckland City. He said, “There is great merit in ensuring that respective organisations find areas of common purpose and overlapping activity.”

To this end, the committee will investigate whether the police can use the council’s traffic-monitoring television cameras at off-peak times. The committee is also looking to work with police on the positioning of the downtown police station as well as the possibility of a centre in the city for young people.

The committee’s chairman Noelene Raffills said the committee would also look at producing a certificate which could be awarded to people who help make Auckland a safer place.

The committee will look at a range of options for banning alcohol in public places in Auckland city and the impact of those options. The committee noted that police attributed alcohol to being a significant factor in disorderly behaviour in town.

Members of the committee agreed that they did not want to prevent law-abiding citizens from enjoying a glass of wine at picnics in parks, rather the idea was to prevent crime in the central business district.

ENDS

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