Police see nothing but good in 6 A project

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33034, 29 September 1972, Page 11

Police see nothing but good in 6 A project

“Now we are assured thati the proposed new 6A Youthl Centre will receive good supervision. we can see nothing; but good come of the ven-1 ture,” said the commanding; of the Christchurch police district (Chief Superintendent ■ G. Tait) yesterday. He said that he had dis-' cussed some of the problems involved in running the) former 6A Victoria Street! centre with the chairman of I the appeal committee for the 1 new centre (Mr L. M. I O’Reilly). “Anyone who is trying tol work in this area is helping the police, but one of our) worries was that at certain | times there was a lack of i supervision.” Mr Tait said. This meant that on some occasions absconders and others wanted by the police had gone to the centre, and when the police had come searching they had found entry difficult. “Our problems were appre-l ciated and we have been as-1 sured that in the future setup there will be good supervision and this problem will not arise again,” Mr Tait) added. With the move to acquire the Nurse Maude Nursing Association’s former premises in Madras Street for the centre, there has come wide community support for the scheme. Among those at a

recent meeting were the principal of the Christchurch Technical Institute (Mr C. V. Gallagher). Dr C. Baron, of Sunnyside Hospital. Mr I. Leggat. principal of Hagley High School, and Mr A. Phillips. a Maori warden. To define the concept on which the 6A project will be based, a management committee was set up. This will take into account the need for flexibility. Those behind the project see it as a pioneer social experiment in which many experts in education and social welfare will be actively involved. The young “dropouts” it is aimed to help are incapable of being assimilated into society without help and this is likely to mean some technical training and accommodation at the centre. Most come from broken homes and have little education. Many come from the security of a Maori community to the alien atmosphere of the city. Mr Taituha Hape Karaitiana and Mrs Rima Bel! have been appointed members of the Kaiapoi Reserve Board by the Minister of Maori and Island Affairs (Mr Maclntyre). They will replace the late Messrs W. M. Taitua. jun, and W. A. Pitama.