At the beginning of last month I had the privilege of spending a night on patrol with the Kirikiriroa (Hamilton) Māori Wardens. I experienced first hand how early practical intervention benefits not only the public – but also policing.

At 11pm on a Saturday night I met up with Gloria Dornan, a warden for 22 years. Gloria tells me the Kirikiriroa Wardens would not be able to work without the help and support of Police. She emphasises how much they appreciate the support they get from District Commander Superintendent Allan Boreham, Hamilton Area Commander Inspector Rob Lindsay and Iwi Liaison Officers Anaru Grant and Constable Melanie Leonard and their staff.

Access to the police station, use of vehicles, radios connected to Northern Comms, access to briefings, line-ups, intelligence, police training and back-up are vital to the wardens.

Hamilton is busy. Waikato defeated Bay of Plenty earlier in the day and the mood in the town is buoyant. Two police units scan the crowd, warily anticipating trouble as the cumulative effects of too much alcohol and joie de vive, take their toll.

Kirikiriroa wardens Jennifer Tapara and Gloria Dornan Photo: Anna Woolnough

Hamilton, a university town with a population of around 130,000, has 37 nightclubs in its central business district. Tonight groups of drunken people weave from one club to another, police observing their movements from strategic positions.

We take the CIB car and drive to a key trouble spot in the town centre and meet up with two other Māori Warden groups. One led by Joyce (Nan) Williams, Gloria’s mum, a small but indomitable women who radiates calm and inner strength – characteristics shared with her daughter and the other wardens. Joyce drives a liveried van that was donated to the wardens by Police. She proudly tells me the Commissioner handed over the keys personally.

Two young men, Aaron – who is hoping to join the police next year and Gerald – who is about to embark on his Māori Warden training, are in the second van.

The Māori Wardens mingle with the crowd – accepting hugs and praise. A voice cries out, “Auntie, Auntie, you are doing a great job, we love the Māori Wardens”. One young man celebrating the Waikato win insists on kissing each of the wardens – they take this in good humour urging him to take care of himself and to stay with his friends.

Meanwhile police stand and watch, scanning the crowd for the first signs of trouble.

Between midnight and 2am Gloria, myself and Jennifer Tapara get in the car and patrol the east side of Hamilton. Turning a corner we see a young man weaving from the footpath to the road. Gloria pulls over and asks if he is OK. Identifying herself as a Māori Warden, she tells him that we will be giving him a lift home. The young man – male, white, aged in his early 20’s – gratefully gets into the car. The Kirikiriroa Māori Wardens offer their highly skilled services to everyone in need, regardless of their ethnicity.

The people of Hamilton love the wardens. Photo: Anna Woolnough

We are hit by a blast of alcoholic fumes. The youth goes quiet, I have a terrible feeling that he is about to be sick. Sensing this, Gloria diverts him by asking questions. He has been to a 21st birthday party, his friends wanted to go into town, but he has drunk too much and wants to go home. We get him there safely and he expresses his heart-felt gratitude shouting “the Aunties are awesome”. Jennifer notes down the details of where we picked him up and dropped him off.

We slowly make our way back to town, driving through the dark streets of Fairview, home to gang members including Killer Beez, the Kripps, Black Power and Mongrel Mob. This is where Jennifer lives and she explains that life is improving for residents. Troublesome families are being moved out and housing improved.

We drive through Enderley – where Gloria tells me about the dedication of local Community Constable Mason Lepou, whose efforts with local youth have resulted in a reduction of crime and a huge decrease in the amount of tagging around the area.

We stop and check on a couple of young men walking on their own to make sure they are OK. Gloria is concerned as there are larger groups of men in the area.

I try my best to spot something of interest before Gloria does – but it is impossible. Her senses are honed by years of experience.

She spots three boys hanging around outside a community building by a park. One boy is in the doorway emptying his bladder. His friends see us, grab their mate who is mid-flow and haul him away through the park. We can’t help laughing as we see them dragging their friend, tripping and stumbling over his no doubt damp, half-mast trousers. Although obviously intoxicated we are not overly worried about these boys – they are sticking together and taking care of one another.

We stop three girls. Two youngsters aged about 13 are propping up an older girl, who has clearly been drinking. Gloria gets out of the car and approaches them. The young ones explain that they are taking their friend home and confirm that they live just around the corner. Gloria tells them to run and we watch them as they scamper to their house.

We then head to the Māori Warden Office for a cup of tea and to exchange notes with the other two groups of wardens on patrol.

Joyce gives me a tour. She explains that they have raised all of the money for the office themselves – sourcing lottery grants and other revenue streams wherever possible to keep the facility running.

The wardens are only scheduled to work between 11pm and 3am – but 3am is when the nightclubs turn out, with increased potential for trouble as alcohol-fuelled punters fight for a limited supply of taxis. More often than not the wardens work through until 5am.

Gloria tells me that Joyce, a youthful 67-year-old, often stays up all night. She finishes her shift on a Saturday morning then goes to garage sales. She buys items to assist people that may come into the Wardens Office. Those needing clothes, linen, shoes, crockery, cutlery, blankets are all helped. Joyce and her husband also care for their severely physically disabled grandson full-time.

At 2.30am we go back to town. The mood has changed. Tired, emotional and very drunk people spill out of clubs. Small groups unwilling for the night to end, linger in alleyways. A police car is parked at either end of one of the main club streets, blue lights flashing. Officers stand shoulder to shoulder down the median strip, a few engaged with the crowd sharing light hearted banter – but their message is clear – ‘trouble is not welcome – don’t mess with us’.

We wander amongst the milling crowd. I feel wary, not afraid because I am with the wardens, every comment made by the crowd is supportive – but I am glad to have Aaron and Gerald there. The male wardens are quiet, but have a substantial presence that is very reassuring.

A distressed young girl approaches and asks for help. She doesn’t want to get into a car with her boyfriend who’s been drinking and taking drugs. We take her home. During the drive she doesn’t stop saying thank you except when she notices that I am not wearing a warden uniform. I explain I work for the police and the change is instantaneous – she becomes very agitated and is worried I’m going to arrest her because her boyfriend has taken drugs. I explain I’m not a police officer and couldn’t arrest her even if I wanted to. But her reaction is interesting. She knows the wardens are not there to judge only to help – while her perception of police is that they will take action.

In all we take seven people home. Seven people who may have made it home safely under their own steam with no assistance – but each and every one of whom was potentially vulnerable.

That night the wardens dealt with 30 people, 20 transports, five youth, three disorders, two assaults, including a young woman who had seriously self harmed, then walked out of hospital. This was a moderately busy night – the Kirikiriroa Wardens have dealt with up to 60 people in one night, diverting them before they came to police attention.

ILO Constable Mel Leonard in her role as Warden Support Officer, dealt with a further 10 people, providing lifts home to seven people and dealing with three for disorderly behaviour.

By contrast police made six arrests: one driving whilst disqualified, one breach of liquor ban, two fighting, one detox and one disorderly behaviour.

A year ago ACC formed a partnership with the wardens and Hamilton Police. The ‘Ready Response’ initiative pilot used the community service provided by the wardens to try and reduce the high number of claims by Hamilton Māori of alcohol-related harm/injury.

Statistics gathered during the pilot indicate a staggering 87 percent reduction in potential ACC claims over the year. ACC funding has run out; however in recognition of the impact of wardens on community safety, Police has continued to resource the project.

Maori wardens are an invaluable resource for Police to tap into.

By working together there is a real opportunity to create a safer community.