Friday September 21, 2012

Mayor praises community effort to combat violence

Mayor Jenny Rowan has praised the efforts of the community in banding together to combat community violence in the wake of two vicious killings in the District.

She said the recent deaths of Sean Strongman-Lintern and Izak Milanta were a real tragedy for their families and extended whanau, and the community had responded very well to the call for help and support.

This was witnessed in the blessing of the site earlier in the week and the support for the candlelight vigil planned for this evening (Friday).

The Mayor said the Council, Police, community groups and business owners had worked intensively to confront the situation and look for practical solutions.

“We are not alone in having this behaviour in the District and there is no quick fix that can be provided by the Police, the Council or any other single agency,” she said. “However there’s a lot we can do to keep people safe, manage the situation and look for constructive diversions for young people at risk.”

Ms Rowan says Council has installed a CCTV camera in the area and Police have installed three additional cameras and increased the lighting in the Kāpiti Lights car park.

She said Police had also increased their presence at Kāpiti Lights and the wider District and would be running a ‘zero tolerance’ operation focusing on preventing violence and anti-social behaviour over the next month.

Mayor Rowan said an independent expert had been commissioned to undertake a safety audit of Kapiti Lights looking at the design, management, activities and use of technology in the complex from a crime prevention perspective.

“We have also met with the ‘body corporates’ responsible for the area to discuss closing times, management of patrons, public safety and security.

“Monteiths will not be seeking permission to extend their opening hours to 3am, as planned. The Retro Bar licence is up for renewal and Police have indicated they will seek cancellation or postponement of the licence or a reduction in opening hours,” she said.

Mayor Rowan said there were moves underway to establish local Maori Wardens in Kāpiti and this would be a tremendous bonus for the community.

Earlier this week Council brought together nine social and youth agencies who will meet weekly over the next two months to respond to immediate concerns and look at longer-term strategies and actions for at-risk young people.

Mayor Rowan stressed that Kapiti was “a great place to live and a safe place to live and raise children”.

“While this issue has brought high profile media coverage to Kāpiti for all the wrong reasons, it has also shown we are a very good community that can take strong action and put practical solutions in place to protect community safety.”

(Note: Tonight’s public candlelight vigil will take place from 7.30pm in the Kapiti Lights car park and will be attended by the Mayor, available councillors and the Police.)

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