Const Craig said the job involved getting out into the community.
In Dunedin city, that meant a certain amount of "walking the beat" - going downtown where your visibility meant you could strike up relationships with business owners, schools and other organisations operating in your community.
It also involved arranging talks and meetings with government and non-government agencies.
Once those relationships were established, which could take anywhere from six months to a year, officers identified and took on specific projects in consultation with the community and other sections of the police force.
Const Craig said it took a certain kind of person to be a community constable.
"I think you've got to want to be involved with other agencies and do proactive stuff and not want to be in the fast car going to emergencies.
"We're not just an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. You are going in there and finding ways to actually sustain communities."
The "refreshed" aspect of community policing in New Zealand has been to incorporate "reassurance policing" into the approach.
Certainly, the new emphasis on community policing had changed the job, said Const Craig, who has been a community constable for just over three years.
"Initially, when I went into it, I didn't really know what I was doing. I just thought I had to go and make myself available to the community and go and do some proactive things. But the focus now is more intel directed.
"Instead of me looking for the problems, I'm made aware of them and there are other resources available as well."
Being a front-line officer for seven years in community stations had taught her a lot about communities and shown her how little people knew about what was out there for them.
Over the years, she had picked up a lot of knowledge that allowed her to help refer people on to the right place, and had often made a point of going along to those services, knowing who they were, what they did and how she could refer people to them.
She found that was often all people needed.
"You would get called out to a crisis and you would get there and you would think well, really, all they need is to be referred to the right services. But it's unfortunate for some families you end up with a crisis before that happens."
Much of the satisfaction she derived from the job was from empowering people to do things for themselves.
"It's not a matter of you doing things for them. I don't like that idea of making them dependent on you to solve their crisis. They should be able to do things for themselves.
The community policing team:
> Dunedin Youth Team (three members): Deals with youth crime issues, targeting offenders, recidivist offenders and those at significant risk of becoming youth offenders.
Works in partnership with community organisations and other parts of the police organisation.
> Central City (2 + Sgt): Undertakes high-visibility beat patrols, liquor licensing duties, business community liaison and helps raise police profile.
Aim is to reduce violence and disorder in CBD, enhance perceptions of police visibility and public safety.
> Kaikorai Valley (1)
> Balclutha (1)
> Prison liaison (1): Accommodated within the prison to monitor and deal with community concerns.
> Central Otago (2 + Sgt): Based at Alexandra. Works with tourism sector to reduce tourist-related crime and vehicle crashes, reduction in crime and dishonesty and liquor-related crime.
> Wanaka (2 + Sgt): Started end May. One with a rural focus, the other a youth focus.
Rural constable establishing relationships with farming organisations, establishing rural support networks, serving as primary police point of contact for events, community functions, rural support groups and field days.
Focus on reducing dishonesty offending, specifically farm-related thefts and incidents, enhance road safety, improve community satisfaction with police services.
Officers in general will target top offenders in the area, addressing community concerns relating to youth crime and crashes and incidents and effects of alcohol-related crime and crashes.
> Queenstown (2): Yet to start. Based at Queenstown airport. Establish relationships and partnerships with key local organisations, follow up crime incidents in the wider Frankton community, serve as point of primary contact for police in the area. Increase public confidence through greater visibility, reduce crime.
> Southland (4): Three based at South Invercargill and one rural community constable at Winton.
Fourteen pre-existing positions at Mosgiel, South and North Dunedin, central Dunedin, Oamaru, Alexandra, Arrowtown and Southland.
