Nelson Community Patrol began over 30 years ago. We act as another set of eyes and ears for the Police. Our Patrol operates from the Nelson Police Station with full support of Police Management. We have a marked vehicle with a Police Radio, enabling us to be in contact with the Police and other Community Patrols in the Tasman Region at all times.

We have Patrollers on duty Friday and Saturday nights in the vehicle and one Patroller monitoring the CCTV cameras. After a Police briefing held at 10.00 pm, we start our patrol finishing around 2.00 am or later if the hotels and clubs are busy.

We patrol many areas - schools, churches, parks, beaches, alley ways and off-street buildings. Police are short staffed.  We bring a presence in these areas, letting people know that we are around. We also respond to and are often the first on scene called in by the public. We don’t intervene unless necessary, but observe and advise Police Comms as to what is happening so they can task staff appropriately. All Patrollers undertake training for this role.

With the recent weather-related events in Nelson, our city Patrol has been out in all weathers, providing public support, traffic management, checking on businesses, and reporting information to authorities to ensure a safer response.  We are all volunteers, no one is paid for their time - all is given freely.