Cooperation brings security to shattered city

HAMISH COLEMAN-ROSS

ON DUTY: Lance Corporal Aaron Tuhi and Constable Mark Boddy man the cordon on Cathedral Square.

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In the aftermath of the Christchurch quake the military and the police have joined together to provide security in the devastated city.
 
Cooperation between the services has seen 80 extra police officers who were flown in from Auckland to assist with the disaster staying at the Burnham Military Camp.
 
The visiting police officers, both men and women, have slept on camp stretchers in the army gymnasium in the days following the 7.1 earthquake.
 
The police staff manning the cities various cordons around the city are being fed packed lunches and hot dinners prepared by the army’s 40 chefs.
 
Inside Christchurch central police station an operation room has been established to house both the army and police staff co-coordinating the relief efforts inside the city.
 
The room crackles with radios and voices as senior military staff and police officers work together to plan the security effort being implemented around the city.
 
Second lieutenant David Pedrosa-Durie works the radio as he studies maps of the city. He is monitoring military manning the cordons, watching out for potential incidents and co-coordinating their food deliveries.
 
"The earthquake was worse than I first thought. Until you actually see the damage you have no idea."
 
Beside him, Lieutenant Dennis Petre said there had been little trouble on the cordons.
 
"Christchurch civilians seem to be pretty helpful and co-operative."

 Standing patiently on the cordon at Cathedral Square during a 12-hour shift, Lance Corporal Aaron Tuhi said seeing the damaged city had been a "shock".

"These aftershocks have made it pretty hard, these engineers and stuff are trying to do their job and make the city safe for everyone so they can go back to their jobs.
 
"It's very frightening really."
 
The officer in charge of the civil defence group, Captain Mark Rutledge, said since Monday around 400 defence staff had been involved in the quake operations in throughout the city and in Kaiapoi.
 
Christchurch locals had been supporting the emergency workers manning the cordons, Mr Rutledge said.
 
"I had a bit of a walk around myself this morning and inside the inner cordon where the cafés are still trying to maintain a trade they’ve been digging deep in their own pockets and providing guys with coffee and bits like that.”
 
 "The police have been very accommodating for us…I’ve got nothing but praise for their professionalism in the circumstances.
 
"Something like 20 police members from Christchurch have had their homes severely damaged and yet they’re still fronting up to work and it motivates us to assist where we can."
 
Second in command of the civil defence group Senior Sergeant Phillip Dean there was an "easy" relationship between the army and police.
 
He spoke of how 80 visiting police officers bedded down in the army gym in the days after the quake.
 
"I think the combination of staying in the gym with other people and the aftershocks we were having did keep them awake.
 
"But the army have just been a great support throughout our civil defence operations."
 
Yesterday Police commissioner Howard Broad kept a low profile as he discreetly visited the city, inspecting cordons and quake damaged areas.
 
"From the moment my phone started ringing early on Saturday morning my perception of how Christchurch and Canterbury has coped has been one of an outstanding response."
 
He praised the joint effort between police and military staff.
 
"I was immediately confident that the planning and preparation put in place over the years had kicked in seamlessly.
 
"It was a first class start to something so calamitous."

- © Fairfax NZ News

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