New community patrol to be set up in Queenstown
Queenstown Police are looking forward to having extra “eyes and ears” in the area with the introduction of a new
Community Patrol team in the coming months.
Currently over 140 community patrols operate across New Zealand as part of Community Patrols of New Zealand (CPNZ), a
non-profit voluntary group of people who work alongside Police to help make the local community safer for everyone.
Police are looking to establish the Wakatipu Community Patrol in Queenstown as part of a wider goal of safety, and to
emphasise the important partnership that exists between Police and the community.
With an increasing number of visitors to the Queenstown area, and the seasonal influxes, Queenstown residents, business
owners and the wider public will all benefit greatly with the establishment of a regular patrol.
However, for the patrol to be set up it needs keen locals to volunteer their service.
Volunteers will work closely with the police and be their extra “eyes and ears”.
They will report incidents to the Police, gather information, identify suspicious behaviour and patrol areas of concern.
Training from CPNZ will be provided, and it will be designed to fit around what is best for Queenstown and the wider
Wakatipu area.
The scheduling of patrollers would depend largely on the patrol size, but volunteers would be encouraged to patrol for
around four hours a month.
If you are keen to find out more about preventing criminal offending and helping to make the community a safer place, an
information evening will be held at the Queenstown Police Station on Wednesday 7 June at 7pm.
You will hear about the exciting programme, find out more about CPNZ and meet people involved in this initiative.
Police encourage anyone interested to come along to the information evening, as it’s a great opportunity to play a
valuable part in community life in Queenstown.
If you interested in getting involved, contact Constable Abby Pagel at abigail.pagel@police.govt.nz or check out
www.cpnz.co.nz.
ENDS