My Account
Two years ago Karen Little decided to return to the workforce after many years at home bringing up her children. Her work as coordinator for Neighbourhood Support in Rodney has put her at the forefront of the community’s efforts to reduce crime and focus on taking care of each other. Here she shares the insights she has gained in this role.
I have four children, three sons aged 16, 14, and nine and a daughter aged seven so for eight years I was out of the workforce, taking care of them.
One day I was chatting with a friend while picking up my kids from school and said I was ready to start some sort of paid employment again. She had heard that the Neighbourhood Support job was available and said I should apply – and here I am! It was meant to be.
That was just over two years ago.
My background is in working with people. I was with Air New Zealand as an air-hostess for 13 years and you have to be a people person to enjoy that type of work. Meeting and communicating with people is also the most important function of my job with Neighbourhood Support.
As coordinator for Rodney, I try and spread the word about the advantages of Neighbourhood Support throughout the community, for example by holding recruitment drives at gatherings such as ratepayers’ meetings. Sadly, the biggest upsurge in recruitments generally occurs when burglaries happen, particularly in rural areas. Immediately after that, people contact me about forming new groups.
I bring on new groups and assist them in getting set up. Once they’re up and running, I maintain contact with the leaders of each group through regular updates via the net, newsletters and annual ward meetings.
I also keep our website updated with articles and Rodney’s crime statistics, covering things such as burglaries and car theft, along with information about upcoming events. This means working closely with Police and Council.
A lot of this work has pushed me out of my comfort zone, especially at the start when I had to learn the computer systems. I’m a bit of a technophobe and I found that a real struggle, but thank goodness I have teenage sons. They were so helpful with all of that unfamiliar, technical stuff.
There are 240 Neighbourhood Support groups in Rodney that are 100 percent active. This involves around 3840 people.
On average there are eight households in each group, but there are some huge ones – such as one based in Stillwater and the biggest one in Rodney, which is in Snells Beach. They seem to be very community minded out there and conscious of the environment. They let us know what’s going on down on the beaches and reserves regarding littering, netting practices, bikes on the beach and so on.
Particularly in rural places, people get to know the residents’ vehicles. They note anything unusual or if they’ve seen a car that doesn’t belong to a resident cruising around and let me know. I can arrange for a registration check with the community constable if it seems to warrant it.
Most of the people who join Neighbourhood Support groups are in the middle-aged bracket, but there are younger ones too, especially new home owners. The idea of Neighbourhood Support is really gathering momentum, which is wonderful to see because I think it empowers people at a loca
I believe Neighbourhood Support groups are incredibly important in fighting crime, but of course that is something that’s hard to quantify – how can you show that a crime has been prevented?
We are all aware that police resources are stretched and I think it is up to each of us to do what we can as individuals and take on more responsibility. In my view, apathy is the worst thing out and I would encourage anyone to take a proactive approach – why wait for something to happen?
The members of each group look out for each other too –particularly keeping an eye on older residents in communities such as Orewa. It’s about neighbours looking after each other. This used to happen as a matter of course in times gone by, but now we’re all so busy and people are transient and they don’t think they need to get to know who
Neighbourhood Support groups have no powers of enforcement, so they’re simply a source of information – eyes and ears out in the community. One lady in a group we started recently wanted to know whether she would get a uniform and a badge when she joined and I had to say that was the last thing anyone wants.
The feedback I get is that boy racers are a major concern in our community – especially in Orewa and Stillwater. However, burglaries and home invasions are without a doubt the biggest worries for residents. I update my figures on this type of crime every week and so I can confidently say that this problem is right across Rodney and growing. Lots of electronic gear in particular is taken – the black market must be thriving. The other chief concern for a lot of people around here is graffiti.
I also deal with quite a few safety issues that are addressed to Council but end up being re-directed to me – things such as bad lighting in parks.
Doing this job has made me way more aware of what’s going on around me. Last year there was an attempted abduction of a school child in Waiora Road and earlier this year there was renewed publicity about stranger danger in Gulf Harbour when a community patroller spotted a suspicious car in the vicinity of the school. These sorts of issues create a great deal of fear for parents and caregivers, and the best thing we can do is be vigilant.
What I love most about this job is meeting so many people all around Rodney and right across the social spectrum. I get invited to lots of community meetings and support groups, which is great.
Neighbourhood Support is an independent organisation and self-funded. One of my tasks is to apply to funding charities such as the Lotteries Commission and ASB Trust. Council also provides some funding and support in the form of resources and maps.
I think being a member of a Neighbourhood Support group is an extremely good preventative measure. There are stickers that members put on their houses, so anyone who goes in without permission knows there are neighbours keeping a lookout.
I am extremely fortunate in being able to work glide time, so I can still maintain a semblance of order at home, attend my children’s sports and other events whenever possible and work around my husband’s schedule in the school holidays.
I have found that working is pretty much an extension of parenting, in that the demands of a work environment reflect what you naturally do in the running of a home. You need to prioritise and work to a time frame or things get on top of you and quickly turn to custard.
