Two Gisborne boys who witnessed an assault, followed the perpetrator and noted his car details and description, leading to an arrest, have earned high praise.
Holy Cross Primary School pupils Jackson, 11, and Lucas, 10, have been lauded for their efforts after they witnessed an assault near Fitzroy Gardens soon after they had left a footy match with a parent.
Holy Cross principal Sandra Ritchie says she’s proud of how the boys and their parent dealt with the situation.
“The big thing for us as a school is that we teach the children a lot about the ‘power of the bystander’,” she said.
Ms Ritchie said that after the boys saw the incident, they checked whether the victim was OK and followed the perpetrator from a distance before taking down his vehicle licence plate number and description.
“The important thing was that the boys were resourceful but safe,” Ms Ritchie said.
“They acted appropriately in the situation by making sure the woman was OK and caring for her first. They didn’t confront [the aggressor] but they took down his details and told police.
“It was a great example of using the power they had as bystanders in a positive and safe way.”
Leading Senior Constable Leigh Johnson congratulated the boys on helping police with their investigation. “It was fantastic that they were able to safely give information which helped police,” he said.
