Hauraki Community Probation Service seeks more projects like the
Gilmour Lake boardwalk for offenders on community work sentences.
Hauraki Community Probation Service staff have challenged communities from Coromandel to Morrinsville to find more projects for offenders on community work sentences.
The call was made at a hui in Thames that attracted more than 60 people from local marae, churches, government agencies, schools and community groups.
Sel Baker from the Rotary Club of Waihi told the hui how offenders had contributed to the town’s successful Gilmour Lake boardwalk project.
Over several weeks supervised offenders put in 600 hours driving piles in the swamp by hand, laying cobblestones and clearing paths in the reserve that attracts 1000 visitors a week.
“Some offenders even offered to come back after they’d completed their sentences to help out as volunteers,” says Sel.
Service Manager Carmen Park says the hui was an effective way to show how community work benefits the wider public.
“Its success depends on the community letting us help them with suitable projects - big and small. Size is not a critical factor in making community work worthwhile.”
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ISSN 1178-8453