Community Patrols of New Zealand (CPNZ) chairman Robert Fowler opened the three-day seminar yesterday with an announcement the organisation had, for the first time, been awarded a contract by the Ministry of Justice.
The $2 million, two-year contract recognised the importance the Government placed on the organisation's service and meant contestable grants, in addition to financial support, would be available to the country's 130 patrol groups.
Welcoming the patrollers to Dunedin, Mr Fowler said it was great to see so many turn out for the training.
"All over New Zealand, I see patrollers out there supporting their communities and police and doing something that is so valuable; something which the communities around us are only starting to realise."
The Minister of Police, Judith Collins, congratulated the patrollers for stepping up and helping police and their communities when it might be easier to lose heart and think there was nothing a law-abiding person could do.
She acknowledged the role of Christchurch's community patrol groups during the earthquakes and their efforts to provide community assurances while police were busy with emergency response tasks.
Representing Police Commissioner Peter Marshall and Southern police district Superintendent Bob Burns, Inspector Alistair Dickie, of Dunedin, thanked patrollers who, he said, volunteered to work in all weathers, at their own cost and mostly in the middle of the night to assist police and help their communities.
It was a pleasure for police to acknowledge that, he said.
They were another, much appreciated, set of eyes and ears for police.
The training seminar will include sessions on volunteer recruiting, recording events and giving evidence, improving observation and reporting skills, using digital radio for communication, crime science, the Rugby World Cup and fundraising.
