Local business donates car to Community Patrol

Dr Sangeeta and Venkat Mankal presents keys to donated vehicle to Merril Bourne from NZ Community Patrol

Community Patrol (CPNZ) has been working with Police since 2002 to deter crime in communities around NZ, by patrolling suburbs and reporting to Police, areas, people and vehicles that appear suspicious.
 
Mount Roskill Community Patrol Inc. (MRCP) which is based at the Roskill South Community Policing Centre, commenced in 2015 and regularly visits known trouble spots in the community covering Lynfield, Hillsborough, Three Kings through to Balmoral, Sandringham, Mt Roskill and Owairaka, with the aim that the presence of a marked patrolling vehicle will have a deterrent effect on criminal activities. All the patrollers are local people who volunteer, are vetted and trained to help minimise crime in the community.
 
Like many other worthy causes, most CPNZ branches run virtually on the smell of an oily rag, with many using patrollers’ own vehicles sporting magnetic CPNZ signage. However, due to an incredibly generous donation by a local business, MRCP now has its own car.
 
Grateful thanks go to a Mt Roskill business QualityCare Dental who have donated a Toyota Prius Hybrid to MRCP. Owners Dr Sangeeta and Venkat Mankal had met Merril Bourne, secretary and co-ordinator of MRCP at Puketapapa Business Voice, a business networking group set up to support local businesses in the Mt Roskill area. It was through that association that Sangeeta heard about MRCP and the work they do.
 
“The support from local businesses such as QualityCare Dental is so encouraging”, says Merril Bourne. “We rely completely on grants and donations, and it’s just so good to know the business community has got our back.”
 
Anyone over the age of 18 yrs can apply to become a community patroller and the more members each patrol has, the greater their success will be.
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www.cpnz.org.nz  www.mtroskillcp.org.nz 
www.facebook.com/mtroskillcommunitypatrol