Latest news with #TonyOKeeffe

RNZ News

Rotorua police announce new team of six to start on CBD beat

Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell, Police Minister Mark Mitchell, area commander Inspector Herby Ngawhika, Bay of Plenty District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson, Senior Community Constable, Tony O'Keeffe (far right) along with other local officers at Rotorua police station Photo: RNZ / Libby Kirkby-McLeod A Rotorua store owner says she has been threatened, broken into, and had food demanded of her but having police on the streets is making a big difference . Two community constables have been working with the Rotorua Council's City Safe Guardians to address retail crime and inner-city safety over recent years. Now police have announced a new team of six starting on the beat across the central business district. Rotorua area commander Inspector Herby Ngawhika said Police Commissioner Richard Chambers had been very clear that he wanted police to 'get back to basics.' "Having this team in our CBD provides a real face-to-face interaction with our retailers, with our community, and with our visitors," he said. The streets were reasonably quiet and shops not too busy on a wet cold day in Rotorua when RNZ joined police officers, Mayor Tania Tapsell and Police Minister Mark Mitchell to see exactly what this policing looked like. At Goldiluck Bakery, owner Renneth Thongly said she had faced a range of issues such as being threatened, broken into, and had food demanded of her. But she said Rotorua Senior Community Constable Tony O'Keeffe had given her good tips on how to remember and identify offenders, and she was able to contact him personally if she had concerns. "Don't take him away!" she told Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Goldiluck Bakery owner Renneth Thongly speaks with Police Minister Mark Mitchell about the effects of having police on the streets. Photo: RNZ / Libby Kirkby-McLeod The Toyworld on Tutanekai Street in Rotorua was robbed four times in just over a week recently. Three out of four of the offenders have been caught, and the store manager Mark Sherman agreed it was good to have the number of a local police officer he knew would be able to respond. "We can always call him and say 'hey, if you are in the area we've got someone here who has just left', and usually they can do something," he said. Toyworld owner Chris Fleming also owned a second store in the local mall and found using the online security platform Auror helpful. "The same people come to both stores and if we can share that information, it makes it more likely that we are going to be able to deal with it," he said. O'Keeffe said when he started a shift, he could look at who was offending around the streets. "Some of these offenders are targeting retailers' multiple times, they will go to several different shops in a day and they get emboldened," he said. O'Keeffe said in the case of the four thefts at Toyworld he was able to find the offenders throughout the week, and they are now before the courts. He said it could be quite disheartening to hear the stories from retailers. "The violence and threats towards their staff - that's probably the worse thing about it," he said. Sergeant Colin Peers, Police Minister Mark Mitchell and Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell joining local constables on the beat. Photo: RNZ / Libby Kirkby-McLeod Bay of Plenty District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson said it was great to be starting the six-officer beat team in Rotorua. He said a lot of work had already been done in recent years to improve safety in Rotorua. "With the Rotorua Lakes Council and Māori wardens we created a CBD safety plan that has already shown results for the people and businesses in our city. "Now we'll have a beat team to support this ongoing work to keep our residents, retailers, and businesses safe," he said. O'Keeffe said a lot of the theft was fuelled by offenders battling addiction. "[The goods are] a currency for methamphetamine and drugs more than anything else," he said. Anderson acknowledged that the city faced some complex issues which required a joint approach of agencies, iwi, and community groups working together to solve them. "For our part, we want to ensure everyone who comes into our city feels safe - whether they live here, work here, or are visiting," he said. Minister Mark Mitchell said beat officers had an important role in ensuring retailers and members of the public felt and are safe. "We know it makes a huge difference to our communities to see Police out on the streets. Not only does it make people feel safer, we know it discourages crime," he said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.