This week I bring you news to start things off. Senior Sergeant Chris Brooks has made the long-haul journey from Queenstown to the bright lights of Wānaka to take on the role of Area Response Manager. Welcome Chris, we’re stoked to have you in the team!

Back to business, the week began out on the road for the team, thankfully they weren’t responding to a crash, but instead working hard to prevent one. Imagine going to cross the road in a 40kph area and having a car drive at 75km/h! Or arguably worse, a truck passing you at 74km/h in a 50kph zone – be in control when you drive and think about the consequences of your actions!

Later, the team responded to a missing child who was thankfully found safe in the Albert Town area, before focusing on the roads again and slowing more cars down in the Cardrona Village, yes, it’s 40km/h, yes, it’s for a reason.

I’d like to ask Hāweans to keep their eyes peeled for anyone they don’t recognise being where they shouldn’t be. Someone, through an act of selfishness, stole two children’s mountain bikes while the children were attending school.

We’ve also been made aware of people being disturbed around the Nook Road area as well. If you see something suspicious, give us a call to come and check it out straight away.

No apologies, but given the speeds earlier in the week, we went back to the roads and found drivers travelling 43km/h and 32km/h OVER the speed limit in Cardrona Village, followed by 42km/h over the speed limit in Wānaka township.

Off of the roads, we executed a search warrant for stolen property and a separate warrant for drugs – both of which produced the goods.

We came to the call of a family in distress later in the week and are working closely with our partners to offer assistance.

The weekend saw a good few people out and numbers appear to be picking up for our hospitality businesses. If you are out on the town, make the choice between drinking alcohol, or driving. We have a number of people pending court appearances after this weekend.

Our wee town has welcomed in new visitors with the country gradually opening up and I’m sure with July 31 not long away, we’ll see a gradual increase to this before the grand re-opening.

So, until then, enjoy our slice of paradise and have a great week.