 Times are a changingThursday, 10 November 2011 | admin For many, the suburb of Clendon in Manurewa, South Auckland has an immediate association with crime. The Clendon Residents Group (CRG), a community initiative run by local neighbourhood leaders, looks to change that association to a view more fitting with their motto, “make Clendon a better place to live.” According to a Ministry of Justice Household Survey completed in 2004, burglary remained the highest concern for residents in the wider Manurewa area. Now, these same residents are able to do something to change this, with forensic property marking product SelectaDNA being given to repeat burglary victims by the CRG. Feedback from the Neighbourhood Policing Team who work alongside the CRG identified the issue in the Clendon community.
“I suggested to the group that they could apply for funding to purchase SelectaDNA kits to distribute to the residents,” said Angela Dalton, Deputy Chair of the Manurewa Local Board. The group was spurred on by the success of the Randwick Park Trial which saw 1000 homes, businesses and schools experience a drop in burglary of 61.8% over a 6 month period. “It worked well in Randwick Park in Manurewa to reduce burglaries so we saw an opportunity to use the same product in Clendon,” said Dalton SelectaDNA, an invisible property marking product, deters burglary through the ability to link a criminal to a crime via its unique DNA formula. This high-tech product is easily detected by Police and the highly visible warning stickers that are placed on both the doors and windows of the premise, and the item that has been marked, warn would be thieves to stay away. Funded by the Wiri Trust, more than 50 SelectaDNA kits will be used in the initiative to reduce the rate of burglaries across Clendon. “The group are supporters of Crime Prevention and if this proves to be a successful project they will look to extend the product to the wider community,” said Dalton.
About Clendon Residents Group: The CRG is a community group that was formed in 2003. They provide advocacy for the residents of Clendon, a Tool Library and a Toy Library as well as a community garden. They are able to partner Police and other agencies to promote safety in Clendon through projects like the SelectaDNA initiative. For more information visit www.clendon.info
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