Little movement, more coaxing \u2013 who is this character? He is a new face for the council compliance wardens \u2013 not a member of the usual street wh\u0101nau.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s his story?<\/p>\n
Auckland Council compliance wardens Roimata Farrington (left) and Ansh Parmar begin the morning “wake-up” patrol of rough sleepers on Queen St. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
This is the central city wake-up call. At first, it seems mild, almost like cajoling a teen from slumber.<\/p>\n
\u201cSir. Sir, we\u2019re going to give you about two to five minutes, okay? Is that all right with you? Is that enough time for you to get up? Sir?\u201d<\/p>\n
It is patient yet persistent. Experience is at play.<\/p>\n
The wardens gather for the morning brief to plan the morning patrol. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
The day began, when the morning light was weak, on the seventh floor of the city council building on Albert St.<\/p>\n
Ten community compliance wardens, part of the council\u2019s Community Safety Team, are discussing the challenges ahead, starting with the \u201cwake-up\u201d.<\/p>\n
Senior compliance officer Malcolm Heinrich facilitates the brief. The most important information comes from the voice on the speaker of his phone.<\/p>\n
A member of the team has monitored the city\u2019s CCTV network overnight and shares what their watchful eyes have seen on the streets.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a typical night for a Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The full briefing is a who\u2011where\u2011what description. Nicholas was by Kiwibank, Graham was there. Albert Park, Lower Queen St, Federal St. Drinking. Sleeping.<\/p>\n
Many of the rough sleepers are known to the team and, thanks to the cameras, so are their behaviours.<\/p>\n
About 25 wake\u2011ups will be needed in the central city as the workers and shoppers arrive for the day.<\/p>\n
Senior compliance officer Malcolm Heinrich runs the morning brief, including a report from CCTV operators who monitor the streets overnight. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
This team are part of the frontline addressing homelessness in Auckland.<\/a> It is a tough gig, especially with the ethos to avoid using a stick \u2013 because it doesn\u2019t work, I\u2019m told.<\/p>\n And on this morning, I will be reminded that everyone has a story, a sad reason why they sleep on grey concrete pavements.<\/p>\n The final instructions as the team rise from their seats \u2013 high-vis over slash-proof vests, body cameras and torches attached: \u201cLet\u2019s get ready, let\u2019s go out \u2013 be safe.\u201d<\/p>\n Around two years ago, as one of the daily commuters arriving into town at the bottom of Queen St, council compliance manager Adrian Wilson would see rough sleepers on benches, in doorways and on the pavement.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a lot of issues<\/a> back then with increased encampments and homelessness,” he recalls.<\/p>\n \u201cWe started the wardens probably 2.5 years ago \u2013 it was born out of what we used to have, City Watch, which was a security company that used to go out and do the patrols for us.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mayor gave us some funding to expand what we were doing. We went in\u2011house, no security companies, so we trained our own people, and then we developed this network of compliance wardens in the central city.\u201d<\/p>\n The council now employs 34 wardens covering the city to support a safe environment.<\/p>\n Eighteen are dedicated to the central area, covering shifts from 7am to 10pm \u2013 every day of the year.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve got the patience of a saint, you know, because we don\u2019t have powers, we can\u2019t physically move people, we can\u2019t make them move on or pack up their stuff.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just that relationship building; some we will know them by their first names and they\u2019ll know our officers by their first names, and they just have that good rapport.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd they know sometimes they\u2019ll get a bit grumpy. These guys [the wardens] just patiently wait and calm them down and then we get compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n Ansh Parmar and Roimata Farrington are a team this morning, patrolling downhill.<\/p>\n The subjects of their second wake-up, after the man on the bench, are under lumpy fleece blankets over cardboard set up around an empty shop entrance.<\/p>\n \u201cMorena, how are you, sir?\u201d chimes Farrington.<\/p>\n What looked like two people is actually three. They know the drill, though \u2013 they\u2019ve been woken by the team before. Farrington even receives a hug.<\/p>\n The process is not fast. There is the waking, the stretching, standing, moving stiff bodies in front of the thickening stream of pedestrians.<\/p>\n Then they have to pack \u2013 every day the rough sleepers are moving house, folding blankets and cardboard, filling bags or trolleys and dispersing.<\/p>\n Both Parmar and Farrington are watching closely, seeing ways to smooth this daily transition or assist with problems or maybe help direct where they should go.<\/p>\n \u201cMorning, sir. How are you? Are you okay? Do you need to see the doctor?<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s some breakfast up at the Mission if you need. And I believe they offer medical assistance as well if you need.\u201d<\/p>\n Patience \u2013 the pair seem to have it in spades today \u2013 but there is a purpose to this empathetic approach, Wilson says.<\/p>\n \u201cThe patrols are very much about trying to make way for businesses to operate, to try and make sure that the footpaths are clear.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s to assist business to get on with doing their business without being interrupted through obstructions.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year, a Heart of the City survey<\/a> of CBD business owners was scathing.<\/p>\n Most said homelessness, excessive begging and frightening anti-social behaviour<\/a> were harming their trade, and that the council and government were not doing enough to stop it.<\/p>\n Afterwards, Wilson spoke with concerned shop owners, identified \u201chotspots\u201d and increased patrols in those public spaces.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did an awful lot of work there patrolling, virtually every hour or so, to make sure it was clear of any obstruction and any nuisance.\u201d<\/p>\n Because the wardens have no jurisdiction on private property, he notes, progress requires multi-agency co-ordination \u2013 including Heart of the City\u2019s own safety team and police.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not always a softly-softly approach. After all, this team are about compliance and serve the entire city.<\/p>\n Encampments \u2013 when tarpaulins or pallets and solid materials are used to build shelters \u2013 are not tolerated. Bylaws prohibiting them give the wardens teeth to ensure they are dismantled, Wilson notes.<\/p>\n A makeshift camp had recently sprung up beside the Central City Library. The inhabitants were asked to move, warned to remove their belongings and reminded that the City Mission now offers storage. After a few days, a team arrived and cleared the area, taking away the abandoned rubbish, he said.<\/p>\n Yet even in this scenario, the team, supported by outreach services, were observing, assessing, listening to stories and waiting for the \u201cchink\u201d \u2013 when someone says, \u201chelp me\u201d.<\/p>\n It might not be the hardcore street wh\u0101nau, who are usually struggling with mental health or drug and alcohol addictions \u2013 although this does happen. It is often the new faces.<\/p>\n What is their story? What led them to the streets?<\/p>\n There\u2019s the one about \u201cFred\u201d, who was lying under a blanket on a bench in Aotea Square.<\/p>\n It took 10 days of gentle inquiry and approach from compliance officer Gina Woolston before Fred opened up.<\/p>\n It turned out he was a cancer patient receiving chemotherapy. He couldn\u2019t afford rent on top of the transport to and from the hospital, plus he was usually too tired to travel, so he chose to sleep rough.<\/p>\n All he wanted was a bed to lie in.<\/p>\n Gina referred Fred to an outreach provider. He was immediately placed in emergency housing and later got a motel near the hospital for the remainder of his treatment.<\/p>\n He then returned to his flat.<\/p>\n Inside a quirky fold of a building wall stands a length of vertical cardboard set up like a privacy partition. Beside it is an already loaded supermarket trolley.<\/p>\n \u201cMorning, Angela.\u201d Farrington knows this sleeper.<\/p>\n Parmar leans over the partition. \u201cCan you sit up for us, please?\u201d<\/p>\n A passerby from the growing throng quips, \u201cA bucket of wet water does the trick.\u201d<\/p>\n Farrington: \u201cPardon?\u201d<\/p>\n The pedestrian repeats, \u201cA bucket of wet water does the trick.\u201d<\/p>\n Parmar looks bemused. Farrington kindly rebukes him: \u201cNo, no \u2013 no one wants to be woken up with water!\u201d<\/p>\n The unknown passerby walks on.<\/p>\n Back to work. \u201cMorning, Angela. How are you? How have you been? Time for your morning coffee now.\u201d<\/p>\n At the bottom of Queen St, different teams of wardens \u2013 some accompanied by outreach workers \u2013 cross paths, actioning their own wake-ups.<\/p>\n Having organisations like Auckland City Mission<\/a>, Lifewise or K\u0101hui T\u016b Kaha join the patrols is \u201can absolute godsend,\u201d Wilson says.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the best way to find rough sleepers, because you\u2019re going to find them first thing in the morning or last thing at night. So, they [outreach workers] find their interactions with us really useful because we know where the people are, rather than aimlessly going around the city.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then they also work on referrals, so if we come across somebody during the day that we want to refer … we contact them, and they can come straight out to that individual.\u201d<\/p>\n Since October, \u201cwhen the Government were looking to take a lot more action\u201d, this co-ordinated approach has moved about 50 individuals into housing, Wilson says.<\/p>\n A mix of long-term rough sleepers and new faces \u2013 like the man from Parmar and Farrington\u2019s first wake-up.<\/p>\nAuckland Council compliance wardens Ansh Parmar (left) and Roimata Farrington patrol the central city. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
Council compliance manager Adrian Wilson oversees the Community Safety Team, emphasising empathy before enforcement. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
Auckland Council compliance wardens Ansh Parmar (left) and Roimata Farrington on patrol as part of efforts to keep the CBD\u2019s public spaces safe. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
The wardens check on a rough sleeper beside a makeshift bedding area during the morning wake-up round on Queen St. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
Patience is required as Roimata Farrington encourages a rough sleeper to wake and move on. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
Clearing public spaces and shopfronts so businesses can operate unimpeded is a key part of the morning \u201cwake-up\u201d patrols. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n