Children sleep under school buildings

Press, 10 May 1979, Page 2

Children sleep under school buildings

i PA Rotorua [ Children sleeping under ‘ buildings and prowling the 1 streets late at night have been found by special volun- [ teer night security patrols • checking for vandalism at 1 Rotorua schools. The patrols have been ’ mounted by concerned school committee members ’ and parents. The Rotorua representa- ’ tive on the South Auckland 1 Education Board, Mr W. A. Cleghorn, yesterday said that he was distressed by reports from the volunteer night patrols. “At one school patrols have cleared out children who have been camping under the school buildings and in hedges,” Mr Cleghorn said. “There were even mattresses under the buildings. “I accompanied a patrol one night and was astounded at the number of children, under the age of 10, still wandering the streets after midnight,” Mr Cleghorn said. The patrols were voluntary and were outside the jurisdiction of the Education Board, he said. Some of the schools had been making patrols since the start of the first term and were maintaining them during the holidays. The police were also regularly patrolling schools at night, Mr Cleghorn said. The Rotorua city police controller, (Superintendent G. R. Knight) said yesterday that the volunteer patrols were a “welcome idea.” However, he said, the police did not want the public to get the idea that when confronted with problems such as vandalism they could deal with them themselves.