Neighbourhood support signs available thanks to council funding. PHOTO SUPPLIED
LAST week a call went out for information about a ute stolen from an Ōtorohanga veterinary clinic and within two hours it was found – all through the Neighbourhood Support network.
The Vetora ute was stolen from behind its Ōtorohanga building last Wednesday in the less than five minutes it took a vet to pop inside for extra supplies, CommSafe community support officer Mandy Merson said.
The signwritten ute was fitted with a GPS tracker, but the device was disabled by the thief about 10 minutes up the road.
Mandy sent an alert to about 3500 people with the last known location – Te Kawa Rd.
“My first thought was of rural burglaries, so I wanted to get it out straight away,” she said.
Within 30 minutes she was inundated with phone calls from people in the neighbourhood support network who had seen the ute.
One woman told Mandy she was almost crashed into on Te Kawa Rd with the ute heading towards Pokuru Rd.
Another said he thought he saw the vehicle in Te Awamutu.
And just two hours from the time Mandy put out the alert, she was phoned by a Pirongia resident – she thought the ute was on her property.
It was left in a very obscure place, Mandy said, wedged behind an old woolshed and not visible from the road.
Two things caught the woman’s attention: her electric tape was broken, when it had been fine that morning, and the large photo of a cow on the side of the vehicle.
Mandy said the incident proved just how much information people gather and hold onto without realising it.
“It’s just about people being aware,” she said.
“People looking out for each other is hugely advantageous to police.”
Mandy said Ōtorohanga District Council has provided funding to supply Neighbourhood Support street signs to Ōtorohanga.
“If you are wanting to connect with your neighbours and get an active group together give us an email to assist.
“We can supply the street signs and resources to help you get it started.”
NZ Police rural support officer Collette Corley said the relationship CommSafe has with the community and with police was a really good one.
“Everybody had their eyes and ears open in this instance and it all just works in very well,” she said.
Both organisations had the community’s best interests at heart, Collette said.
CommSafe can be contacted by emailing info@commsafe.co.nz
