Police not keen on safe house plan

Press, 22 October 1986, Page 9

Police not keen on safe house plan

Safe house networks will not get official police blessing but an Auckland woman is pressing on with plans for one where she lives.

Mrs Ineke Knuvers hopes the scheme will begin in Birkdale, North Shore, in time for the new school year. Ten households have already agreed to take part. The school — Verrans Road Primary School —- is keen on the idea, although the police are not keen.

“That is a shame, but we will prove to them that it will work,” Mrs Knuvers said yesterday. Police National Headquarters handed down an official policy on safe house schemes last month, and made clear that the police would not be involved in vetting residents.

Although the police were not against the concept, they believed existing support networks offered more scope for child safety schemes suited to individual neighbourhood needs.

“By using the existing networks, local neighbourhoods can come up with effective ways of ensuring children’s safety in their own areas,” said the coordinator of community liaison and deputy director of public affairs, Chief

Inspector Tom Nunan. He said many aspects of the overseas-developed programmes were inappropriate for New Zealand.

The police want to build on strengths and skills of the neighbourhood and rural support groups to deal with the problem.

There are 692 of these groups in the Christchurch police district, which stretches through North Canterbury, and many of the people involved will attend a seminar next month to discuss the scheme.

Child safety will be high on the agenda, according to a Christchurch police spokesman, Chief Superintendent Ross McLennan, who is involved in community relations work.

“I can see how the safehouse scheme would have an appeal, particularly at the present time,” said Mr McLennan. “We do not control the neighbourhood support groups, but I imagine most of the groups will have this question of child protection on their agendas at their next meeting.”

Those in the groups could compare notes on anyone seen accosting children in the area, and if they found they had a suspect they could tell the police.

They could arrange to show the children which houses belonged to those in the group, in case children needed help. “There is nothing to stop these neighbourhood groups using their own initiative and developing anything they want along these lines,” Mr McLennan said. The main task of the seminar will be to discuss the administration and expansion of the support schemes, and to improve the two-way communications between the groups and the police.

A statement from Police Headquarters also said the police Law-re-lated Education Programme was developing discussion and study material, such as “Keeping Ourselves Safe,” for children, parents and teachers.

Mrs Knuvers began to organise the safe house scheme in Birkdale because of the reserve land close to the school, through which many children walk. Some of the safe houses will be close to the reserve, and Mrs Knuvers hopes to have two in each street in case one household is out at a time when help is needed. Children might need the houses if they were approached by strangers,

chased by dogs, fell over, or were bullied by bigger children.

She has a son, aged nine, going to school, and is caring for a long-term foster child. She had heard about the overseas schemes, and her husband had seen the stickers that mark safe houses in Australia. A policeman she spoke to gathered material for her.

At a staff meeting at the school, a public health nurse spoke in favour of the scheme. Although the staff were enthusiastic, they were worried about the amount of work involved.

“We said, ‘We will do the work. We just want your support’,” Mrs Knuvers said.

A report in the school newsletter got a good response, and Mrs Knuvers says the school will take the children round the district next year to point out the marked safe houses.

Although the people involved in the scheme would not be officially vetted, she knew all the households personally.

“People say, ‘Oh, well, safe houses are not going to guarantee that children will be safe! You have got to keep it in perspective,” she said.