Glen Eden residents meet to discuss violence

The Glen Eden community has been forced to talk about safety in the area after a recent attack at the local train station.

A 17-year-old boy was assaulted by four males at around 5pm on May 11, according to a police spokesperson.

Since the attack, the mother of the boy, Pam Robinson, has had meetings with locals to discuss violence.

Miss Robinson said they have decided to converse with different community organisations, such as the Glen Eden Business Association, to figure out their roles in promoting safety.

“We’re trying to get people that have been in contact with me, one person from each place, to just explain what they do and see if there is a gap in the system,” said Miss Robinson.

However, Waitakere Ranges Local Board member, Steve Tollestrup, said Glen Eden does not have an unusual problem with violence.

“I don’t mind saying that I think violence in Glen Eden is a little bit over-emphasised,” said Mr Tollestrup.

He said only 25 people showed up to a community meeting about violence last month.

“We sent 8000 mail drops, we put it on the Glen Eden Facebook page, we put it on the business association page and the local board page, and only 25 people showed up. So certainly there isn’t a deep dread for most people,” said Mr Tollestrup.

He said the main violence problem in Glen Eden is domestic.

“Family Action has told me, they deal with Women’s Refuge and domestic violence, that certainly there is a problem here.”

However, Miss Robinson said she was busy, and before her son was attacked she was not willing to sacrifice her time to attend meetings. But now she said she would do anything she could to improve safety in the area.

She hopes change will happen soon, as currently her son will not leave the house.

Miss Robinson has laid a complaint with Auckland Transport and said she would like to see more security guards at the station.

“There are security guards in other stations but we don’t have one here,” she said.

However an Auckland Transport spokesperson said there was a security guard on duty at Glen Eden and that the station is covered by live monitored CCTV.

He said the Glen Eden train station is not a specific area of concern, but Auckland Transport and police will continue monitoring the area to see security needs to be boosted.