In the Manukau Area, CPPS operates community work in Otahuhu, Otara, Manurewa, Papakura, and Pukekohe. Find contact details for the Manukau Area.
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Excerpt from Community Works Issue 5, November 2005 |
Sometimes even the army can use a helping hand.
When the 1st NZ Special Air Services Group (1NZSAS Group) relocated from Hobsonville to Papakura in 2002, they faced a closed-down camp in need of a major overhaul on a tight budget.
Probation Officer Ken Ford, who’s also Quarter Master for the NZ SAS Association, offered the help of offenders on Community Work sentences. “It started out with one small job and grew from there,” says Ken.
In the past four years, offenders have lifted and re-laid cobblestone paths, maintained grounds, helped to demolish unwanted buildings and to build unique memorials to New Zealand’s Special Forces.
The memorial to the Long Range Desert Group is the only one of its kind in the world. Other memorials to the NZ Special Operations Forces and the NZ SAS are the first of their kind in the country and now serve as a focal point for Anzac Day commemorations.
One commissioned officer said the offender work parties had helped in areas the army’s budget “wouldn’t be able to touch for a while”.
Meanwhile, Ken says offenders have responded well to the discipline expected of them at the camp. “They’re really proud of their work. Some of these people now have jobs building tracks and laying bricks, using the skills they’ve learned on Community Work.”