Community guardians for 30 years

On the job . . . Timaru Community Patrol volunteers Hayleigh Muir (left) and Trish Andrews get ready to head out for a shift. PHOTOS: CONNOR HALEY

The Timaru Community Patrol (TUCP) has been keeping watchful eye over South Canterbury for the last three decades.

Established in August 1995, the TUCP is a voluntary group and one of over 100 community patrols operating in New Zealand.

They primarily act as eyes and ears for the local police by patrolling the Timaru area and outlying townships such as Geraldine, Temuka and Pleasant Point.

During the course of a typical year the patrol will cover about 10,000km and contribute over 2400 hours of volunteer time.

Volunteer Trish Andrews has been a part of the patrol since its inception and felt the work was still as important as ever.

‘‘I’m sure it still is.

‘‘It’s hard to evaluate just how much because you never really know what you’ve stopped but people now know we are out there especially with the newer daytime work.

When they were just doing nights a lot of people did not know there was a patrol, she said.

‘‘But now people will come up and say it’s a good idea and because they see us out and about we’ve also seemed to turn into a bit of an information centre for people.

‘‘The police still can’t be everywhere and that’s the thing isn’t it?

‘‘They don’t have time to wander up and down places looking for things.’’

She said she decided to sign up for the patrol after seeing the advertisement for it.

‘‘I’d always done a lot of volunteering and my two sons had just left home so I thought it was something I could get and do.

‘‘It was something that sounded really interesting, so I went to the meeting and what they wanted to do suited me and 30 years later I’m still coming back.’’

Making a difference . . . Trish Andrews cleans up some graffiti found on Wai-Iti Rd during a patrol.

It was the evolving nature of the job that kept her coming back, she said.

‘‘When we started we were doing 10pm till 3am and I have to say we saw a whole lot more.

‘‘The public’s behaviour has changed drastically.

‘‘We were out and about when people were just coming out of the pubs, under the influence and we used to get quite a bit of grief. They would get called piglets and nuisances but now reception to them had improved, she said.

‘‘I also like working in the daytime.

‘‘I really enjoy getting out on Monday mornings and doing the graffiti cleaning and lost property stuff.’’

Timaru as a town had also changed a lot, she said.

‘‘The main street years ago was thriving, now at 11 o’clock at night you could just about fire a shotgun down the main street and you wouldn’t hit anybody.

‘‘A lot changed with Covid, people got in the habit of drinking at home and I would say that’s also got to do with cost.

‘‘People can’t really afford to go to a pub for a night.’’

The TUCP currently has 18 active members and Mrs Andrews said they were always looking for more.

‘‘Back at the start we had about 38 or 40 people, the only way we get new volunteers through now is word of mouth.

‘‘It would be really good to get some younger people through. One of our volunteers, Dennis, is 85.

‘‘I’d like to think that most people would be able to give up five hours a month, it’s not too bad.’’

Anyone wishing to inquire about joining the TUCP can contact the local president, Gavin List, on 020 4144-8420.