Police – Contacting police

We continue to hear about crime or suspicious activity third-hand. We want to remind the community, please contact police immediately on 111 if something is happening now. Whether it be someone’s safety at risk, or you are witness to a crime happening, please contact us immediately. By calling, you may prevent the crime from happening. To report something after it has occurred, you can contact us via our non-emergency line 105.

On several occasions this month my team have been fielding calls on their cell phones after hours, where people should be calling 111. It is great that our community is so connected to our local police, but the quickest response you will get in an emergency is by dialling 111.

Fraud prevention

In Warkworth, as well as nationally, we have seen an increased trend in people reporting phone scams, where computers and phones have been accessed from overseas and money stolen. This is highly distressing for those involved. Our best method of fighting this crime is preventing it from happening in the first place. Red flags include calls, emails or text messages out of the blue, asking you to take urgent action, being asked for personal information or passwords, and being asked to provide remote access to a phone or device. If you are unsure, hang up and call your service provider on a verified phone number directly.

If you need to, speak to a family member or trusted friend, and seek advice or assistance from them in contacting the service provider. Your service provider will never rush you into doing something and will always be happy for you to call on a verified number. I also want to encourage family and friends to have discussions around keeping safe online and on phones with our more vulnerable members of our community.

Joining the frontline

As we all know, our wider community continues to grow by the week and our police team here has grown to meet the population growth. I want to encourage those in our community to consider a career in the New Zealand Police. It is a fantastic and varied career where no two days are the same. When police officers are recruited from and stationed in their own communities, they best reflect the community they serve. Anyone who is interested should visit www.newcops.govt.nz, or pop in and have a chat to us at the Warkworth police station. We’re open Monday to Friday, from 8am to 4pm.