Inspector Mike O'Leary honoured with inaugural Association Bravery ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

PoliceNewsThe Voice of PoliceA day in thelife of asole charge police officerBy Deb Stringer, Communications AssistantThrough his job as sole-charge officer in the Chatham IslandsConstable Kane Haerewa has become a jack of all trades.Often trading his policeman’s hat for that ofa Customs, MAF (Ministry of Agriculture andFisheries), Maritime NZ, Birth, Deaths andMarriages Registrar or Corrections Officer,it is little wonder Mr Haerewa describes hisposition as diverse and interesting.“I can’t really describe a typical day becausethe role is so varied that you never reallyknow what the day is going to bring.“One minute you may be enjoying a coffeewith one of the locals, after serving themsome court papers, and then the next youare co-ordinating a recovery mission after amissing boat is spotted floating aimlessly inyour area,” he said.Background checkAlthough Mr Haerewa has only lived andworked in the Chatham Islands for eightmonths, he believes he has fallen on hisfeet.“When I first got here, I wasn’t into fishingand didn’t know too much about the lifestyleor the depth of local issues.“As time goes on though I am gaining moreand more knowledge, which helps me add tomy skills set in turn helping me get to gripswith the issues facing the community.”Building trustLike all sole charge positions, interactionwith the community is paramount.“It is really important when you work in asmall community to build a good rapportwith them and I work hard to achieve this.“When you have this rapport, it makes doingyour job a whole lot easier, as people aregenerally more co-operative.“You can go into houses without needinga warrant and many times resolve issueswithout needing to resort to a prosecution,”Mr Haerewa said.The sole charge officer told Police Newsthat if people knew he was there for them,then often they would be willing to return thefavour when he needed back-up to completea job. Trust and mutual respect are twothings that go hand in hand in policing smallcommunities.Remaining vigilantMr Haerewa said that part of building thatrespect was in making sure he kept his ownbehaviour in check.“Because you are working in a smallcommunity, no matter where you go orwhether you are off-duty or on, you arealways on show as both the ‘Police’ and the‘cop’ - a representative or figure head forthe New Zealand Police.“So even when I’m officially off-duty, ifsomething is going on, there is always thatexpectation that as the cop I need to dosomething about it and when you are theonly one here you can’t just turn your phoneoff, as much as you may want to somedays,” he admitted.ImprovisationImprovisation and being able to think outsidethe square are other necessities for the solecharge police officer.Such qualities were especially evident inMarch this year, when, Mr Haerewa wasin charge of inspecting the missing yacht“Taradzwa” after it was found about 110kmwest of the Chatham Islands.The yacht’s owner, Mr Paul van Rensburg,who had been travelling between Taurangaand Gisborne was reported missing fourdays after he failed to reach his destination.Mr van Rensburg has never been found.New experiencesMr Haerewa said working on the operationwas a completely new experience for him.He admitted as a ‘land lubber’ he didn’tknow his port from his starboard.“Because I was in charge of collecting allthe information and data for analysis, whichwas sent back to the Rescue Co-ordinationCentre in Wellington, I needed to get it right.“I didn’t know much about boats and all theterminology, so I had to learn all about thisin a short space of time,” Mr Haerewa said.Learning how to be media savvy during theoperation was something else to take onboard.“There was a lot of pressure coming fromthe many media outlets who were interestedin the incident and this was definitely asteep learning curve for me,” he said.Island crimeMr Haerewa said the crime rate in theChathams was relatively stable and mostpetty crimes committed had a more “rural/sea flavour”.Common incidents involved people lettingstock out, dogs harassing sheep, rumourmongering, and fishermen working otherfishermen’s gear (taking crayfish fromholding pots at sea).Mr Haerewa said because of the closeknitcommunity, he rarely had to deal withcrimes of dishonesty and when he did itwas often committed by people visiting theisland.“On average, everyone is pretty wellbehaved, and a good portion of my timeis spent serving court and other officialdocuments from the various Governmentagencies.”274November 2010
New Zealand Police Association10.75% pa• Constable Kane Haerewa enjoys being part of the Chatham Islands community. Here heis (right) doing his bit for the Chathams Wild Food Festival – participating in the eatingcontest.Chathams fact file• The Chatham Islands are made up of a group of 10 islands in the Pacific Ocean to theeast of New Zealand.• Only two of the Islands are inhabited - Chatham Island and Pitt Island.• The population on both islands sits at around 750, with the majority of the populationmade up of Moriori and Maori.• The Chathams are known as a fishing paradise. They are home to a number ofecologically significant reserves and home to rare bird and plant life.• The Chatham Islands are the first inhabited place in the world to see the dawn.Source: http://www.chathams.com/A Police and Families Credit Unionpersonal loan can help you achievethe things you want sooner.Whether it’s a car, holiday, homeimprovements or consolidatingyour credit cards into one payment:Police Credit Union is here to help.50th anniversary reunion of the R Morris Winglikely for Wellington in September 2011The R Morris Wing (13 Sept-14 Dec 1961) consisted of 62 men and women.September 2011 will mark the 50-year anniversary since the Wing entered trainingat the Police Training School at Trentham. A reunion is being planned for mid-September next year. It is likely to be in Wellington.The organiser is seeking an early registration of interest from former Wing memberswho are likely to attend, so that the compilation of a contact list from which areunion programme, a suitable venue and detailed planning can evolve.If you are a Wing member you can register your interest by forwarding yourcontact details to: Graham Clewer, 23 Kensington Avenue, Rangiora 7400 orTel: (03) 313-7026 or Email clewer@xtra.co.nzIf you are aware of the location of others in the Wing, please let them know of theproposed reunion.Please make the effort to RSVP before December so we can make this a memorableevent.November 2010275
Page 1 and 2: The Voice of PoliceVOLUME 43 • NU
Page 8 and 9: PoliceNewsThe Voice of PoliceSlain
Page 10 and 11: PoliceNewsThe Voice of PoliceAfter
Page 12 and 13: PoliceNewsThe Voice of PoliceShelte
Page 14 and 15: PoliceNewsThe Voice of PoliceInaugu
Page 16 and 17: PoliceNewsThe Voice of PoliceMad do
Page 18 and 19: Police Council of SportTo contact t
Page 20 and 21: PoliceNewsThe Voice of PolicePolice
Page 22 and 23: PoliceNewsThe Voice of PoliceNew Ze
Page 24 and 25: PoliceNewsThe Voice of PoliceWrite
Page 26: PoliceNewsThe Voice of PoliceAs far

Inspector Mike O'Leary honoured with inaugural Association Bravery ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?