City Safe promotes 0800 258 258

Every individual has a role to play keeping the central city a safe and enjoyable place to be, according to the people behind this year’s winter City Safe programme.
“We have found an easy and safe way to enable people to make a call, take a stand, and let us know what needs to be done to make the most of the central city,” said WDC Senior Community Services Adviser Owen Thomas.

“The 0800 258 258 City Safe toll free number enables people to report everything from a bit of graffiti to a broken rubbish bin, to a dim, shady place where people tend to loiter andlook threatening.

“This winter we are making a strong drive to publicise the 0800 258 258 number. We will be advertising it on radio over the next two months, we have a billboard on the central police station and we will be distributing fliers and running a number of activities, all designed to promote the phone number.

“The number goes through to our call centre 24 hours a day. Every call is noted and assigned for action, and we will be calling people back to get their feedback on the service provided.

“We want everyone who spends time in the centre of the city to know they have a right to enjoy themselves and a right to have a say if something is going on that is disruptive,unsafe, or gives an impression that things are unsafe.

“When we look at the actual crime figures in the central city, Whangarei is quite a safe place, but there are often comments that people don’t feel it is. We want to address that from both ends, making it safer both in reality and perception.”

Mr Thomas said people should always dial 111 for police to report a crime in progress or any suspicious activity, “but there are lots of things which we can do to make things look, feel and be safer that don’t require a 111 call.

“It is not always easy to know who to call when you see a streetlight is broken or a tripping hazard, or a mess that needs cleaning up, or people behaving in a generally unsafe manner, but that is what the City Safe number is for. City Safe wants to hear about anything that reduces either the safety of the area, or the sense of safety.

Some of the things to consider include unsafe use of bikes, skateboards, alcohol and drugs, buildings or vehicles that are unlocked or appear open but abandoned, broken glass, stray animals, graffiti, disorder, protesters, beggars or people behaving in an intimidating way, broken facilities like rubbish bins or sign boards and seats.