Stacey van der Putten: AT Director of Public Transport on the alleged suspect in Auckland bus stabbing being arrested

Auckland Transport has spoken out after yesterday's fatal stabbing of a woman on an Onehunga bus.

The man-hunt for a 37-year-old suspect ended this morning - when a man handed himself in at North Shore Police station.

Police say the attack appears random and they don't think the victim and suspect knew each other.

AT's Director of Public Transport, Stacey van der Putten, says they've increased staff numbers in Onehunga.

She says it's very concerning - and such crime is very sporadic.

"There's only so much we can do - it's a problem in terms of anti-social behaviour. The vast majority of people are really well behaved, these are tiny issues compared to what we generally see." 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Police have arrested the man who allegedly stabbed a woman
on a bus in Auckland yesterday. He's handed himself in
at the north Shore Police station this afternoon. The woman
passed away a few hours after the unprovoked attack. Police
believe it was completely random. Stacy vander Putten is Auckland
Transports Director of Public Transport High Stacy, Oh, what are
you guys going to do on buses?

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Well, while what we are doing, we're definitely out there
in forced. So they in terms of having had transport
officers more visible across the network, particularly in that area,
we put a lot of initiatives in lately and honestly,
what we're seeing is it's concerning to us right in
terms of that there's really really deep society or issues
out there and no amount of different initiatives are kind

(00:43):
of fixed that we need to understand why these things
are happening in the first place.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
You're putting more officers on is it just Route seventy
four nothing else?

Speaker 2 (00:52):
Well, we deployed based on intelligence that we collect across
the network. So we have a limited pull of people
and so we deployed them that we're just needed at
each point in time.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
Yeah, and so it's just on seventy four.

Speaker 2 (01:06):
No, No, they're across the network, but ranked up today
in terms of the presence in that particular area because
we know that the communities are obviously no devastated by
what's happened. So we're just making sure that we have
as many people as possible within the area to show
our support.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Is this known to be a problematic route? So do
you get a lot of trouble on this one?

Speaker 2 (01:24):
No? Not gingly, And I mean that's the thing, right
in terms of that what we're seeing is sporadic across
the network is what we see. We put initiatives in
different places, and we work with communities to be able
to overcome when we see we're called patterns of behavior.
But it shifts around, It really does in depths concerning

(01:44):
because there's only so much we can do. It's a
problem in terms of our anti social behavior. I mean,
the vast majority of people are really really well. Behaviors
are tiny issues compared to what we generally see in
terms of people moving across their network. But I mean,
this one's devastating for us. We're really upset by and
it hearts broken for the family.

Speaker 1 (02:06):
Stacy, which kind of brings me to the point that
I was making at the very start of the program.
It really doesn't matter. I mean, you guys do not
have the resources to be able to deal with every
single problem on every single bus, on every single route,
every single minute of the day. Right, It's just not possible.
So stuff like this, We're going to have to deal
with this in another way, aren't where whether it's putting
these people in the slammer or getting mental health support

(02:28):
or whatever.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
Absolutely, I mean it's going to require a whole array
of different resources to overcome what we're seeing. I mean,
we need to look at these issues and understand why
they're occurring in the first place. And you know what
we can all do to support family skills communities to
be strong, resilient and proud. And that required everybody to
be prognissant about what's happening and everybody to be able
to support some initiatives there.

Speaker 1 (02:51):
Stacy, good luck with that, Thanks so much, mate. That's
Stacy vander Putten, who is the Director of Public Transport
at Auckland Transport. Ten past five now, the chief comwardsman
has had another crack at audering Attamitiki, this time for
receiving multiple reports that a mum's partner was abusing her
very young kids, and despite even having photos, OT didn't
investigate this properly. Peter boches with us right now, Hey.

Speaker 3 (03:13):
Peter, good afternoon, Heather Peter.

Speaker 1 (03:15):
These kids are safe now, aren't they.

Speaker 3 (03:18):
Well. The assurance given to me is that they have
been moved from the abuse of home where they were
to the care of their father, and there is a
safety plan in place. There's been a previous safety plan
in place here that I just hope this one works
better than the last one did.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
Now the photos, in particular, how compelling was the evidence
that these kids were being abused? And this is evidence
that was given to OT.

Speaker 3 (03:43):
When there are multiple complaints of the sort here, including
from the children's own lawyer. This evidence should have been compelling.
At the very least, there should have been a responsible,
in depth investigation. You know, I had hoped he after
I did my report on the death of Malachi Shuebex

(04:04):
two years ago, and the assurance was forgiven by or
ung A Tamariki that there would be dramatic change, and
yet this has happened. And so the reason I've gone
so public on this is that I just need accountability
in situations where children are being abused, and in this case,
one was even psychologically and physically abused by being kidnapped,

(04:26):
and or rung A Tamariki stood on the sideline and watched,
so to speak to me, it's maladministration and it's not acceptable.

Speaker 1 (04:33):
Did they do any kind of investigation? Did they do anything?

Speaker 3 (04:36):
They got these reports, they did a cursory examination and investigation.
It wasn't enough. They were inclined to be dismissive when
one of the family members, another family member applied to
the family court because or ung A Tamariki wasn't it
seems taking a sert of action to compound the pestilence.

(04:58):
Or ing A Tamaiki filed port for the family court
that misled the judge about the nature of the harm,
in other words, that it didn't put the true nature
of the harm and reality. And I found that very
very disturbing.

Speaker 1 (05:13):
Have you lost complete confidence in these guys?

Speaker 3 (05:16):
Well, what I want to say about confidence is that
you earn it. It's the same with the job I do.
It's the same job that anyone does. Ordering a tamariki
needs to obtain New Zealand's confidence. There are elements and
sights which work well. There are some where you don't
know what's going to happen, and this is a site
where we will need to have our confidence restored. I'm

(05:38):
going to look during the time I've got left in
the job at measures of performance and measures of success.
If complaints continue at this rate, they've got an awful
long way to go before they obtain my confidence and
I think the public's confidence.

Speaker 1 (05:53):
Peter, thanks very much for talking to us about that.
That's Peter Bosher, the chief Onwardsman. For more from Hither
duplessy Ellen Drive, listen live to News Talks it B
from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.