Safe City Guardians patrols being extended
Community safety update
Rotorua Lakes Council’s Safe City Guardians will be patrolling Ngongotaha and Eastside hubs as part of extending community safety efforts across Rotorua city.
The Guardians will also be making use of bikes to regularly patrol the Sulphur Point area.
An update on council community safety initiatives was provided to the Community and District Development Committee today [12 March 2025].
Along with the work of the Guardians, work is also progressing to expand the council’s CCTV network, which helps identify and prevent crime and anti-social behaviour and assist with apprehension of offenders where crime has occurred.
The focus of Council’s community safety plan remains on collaboration between Council and partners including police and Māori Wardens with the Inner City Community Safety Hub, which opened in November 2023, enabling increased visibility, responsiveness and engagement with businesses and the community.
Work also continues on reviewing bylaws and policies that relate to community safety with a view to increasing safety and reducing harm. This includes the likes of dog control and the current review of the Local Alcohol Policy with reviews of other policies and bylaws to follow.
Rotorua Police Area Commander Inspector Herby Ngawhika told the Committee additional police anticipated locally in future would enable increased focus on community policing work. Last year Rotorua police appointed a second CBD-based community constable.
For the full update go directly to this part of the meeting recording via this link
You can view the presentation slides relating to this matter at the following link on Council’s website: ECM_21188266_v2_Presentation - Community Safety Update
Also on the agenda
RotoruaNZ update: A quarterly update from the Council’s destination marketing and economic development CCO (council-controlled organisation) noted the importance of major events to boosting visitor numbers. The CCO’s Chief Executive Andrew Wilson said Rotorua has had a “reasonable” summer, performing ahead of national benchmarks like international spending with solid growth in particularly international visitor numbers.
For the full update go directly to this part of the meeting recording via this link
Go to p17 of the meeting agenda to view RotoruaNZ’s quarterly report
Youth Council 2025 update: The Committee received an update on this year’s Youth Council programme and progress following the appointment of a 2025 Youth Council in January.
Go directly to this part of the meeting recording via this link
Go to p29 of the meeting agenda to view the Youth Council report
Housing plan progress update: This item was dealt with in confidential for commercial reasons.
View the full recording of today’s livestreamed meeting at the following link on Council’s YouTube channel: Community and District Development Committee - 12 March 2025
View the meeting agenda and presentations at the following link on Council’s website: Community and District Development Committee - 12/03/2025 - Rotorua Lakes Council
