A Toga Response Team was just one of the creative ways the Wellington City Community Policing Team spread safety messages and engaged with university students during O-week.
The community team of Sergeant Hamish Knight and Constables Ben Hopkins, Jeremy Blewman, Sandy Cumpstone and Matt Barraclough teamed up with Victoria University to create engaging videos to spread personal safety messages to students.
They also supported a range of activities, including the upgrade and renaming of Kake Tonu Way, a previously unlovely walkway to and from the University.
Hamish says the team wanted to try a different approach to engage with students.
“Our main target audience are first-year students attending O-week events," he says. "Instead of just talking to students about safety we wanted to try a different approach and create something they would find engaging.
“After seeing the success of the consent videos the Adult Sexual Assault team had put together with the help of Public Affairs, we were inspired to create our own.”
In preparation for O-week two Facebook videos were created – the first involved the Victoria University of Wellington Student Association and the second involved Constable Ben Hopkins dressed up in a Toga as the Police Toga Response Team (click links to see videos).
The O-week safety videos were a real team effort and I want to thank my team for their hard work in making this initiative a success,” says Hamish.
“However, a special mention has to be made for Ben, our University Liaison Officer - his dedication and hard work has had a significant positive impact on trust and confidence in the university community.”
Both videos received thousands of views but the toga video – giving safety advice in advance of the traditional O-Week toga party - was a hit with 21,000 views in the first 36 hours of being posted to the Wellington District Facebook page. It has now clocked up an impressive 35,000 views.
The renaming of Kake Tonu Way was also a highlight for the team as Ben had worked closely with Victoria University, Wellington City Council and Te Aro Primary School to increase safety in the area.
Previously the walkway was an uninviting environment and assaults had occurred there. However, over the last few months Ben has worked with the stakeholders to increase safety.
“It now has better lighting, a CCTV camera that records 24/7 and is monitored regularly, vegetation cut back and a new name, Kake Tonu Way, meaning 'ever upwards' - the same as the Te Aro School motto.”
The team spent the rest of O-week working late shift, engaging with students coming and going from events.
“Ben had students come up to him and the rest of the team and start conversations after they recognised him from the toga video," says Hamish. "Their feedback was really positive and they felt they could approach the team if they had any queries or needed advice.
“We also had awesome feedback from O-week organisers saying there was a real shift in attitude — everyone was positive and respecting each other at events, compared to previous years.
“A few people have said to us that the Toga Response Team is going to be hard to top so we are going to put our heads together to ensure the next initiative is as much of a success as this one was."