A new group formed to pressure the Government to make real changes to stem the rising tide of crime in Whangārei has taken off, with plans for a mass march through the city to make their point and a well-known community leader to front the campaign.

Business owners Raquel and Mike – they do not want to use their surnames used – started the Whangārei Stand Up Facebook group on Monday, concerned at what they see as a rise in crime and people living in fear that they could become victims too. More than 3400 members joined up in three days, and the pair have been blown away by the response.

The group met again on Wednesday to form a plan of action and former long-term police officer and current Whangārei District Councillor Gavin Benney has agreed to lead the public campaign for the group over the serious community safety issues.

Benney, a longtime police officer at Hikurangi, said the city was not safe at times and the community needed to unite to send a message to the Government that it needed to do more. He said more police, more resources and more visibility of officers on the streets were needed, but, he said, community action was the best way to send that message.

Benney said the aim was to organise a mass march through the city – “sooner rather than later” – to get the message across, and they need action now.

“We want people united so we can deliver to our leaders our requests and demands for action now. The Government showed after the Christchurch mosque tragedy that it could make new laws quickly [by banning semi-automatic weapons] so they are capable of a quick response on these issues too.

Meanwhile, police have responded to the Whangārei Stand Up campaign. Relieving Whangārei area commander Inspector Wayne Ewers said it showed there is a strong sense of community in their district.

“We know that people feel strongly about their right to be safe and feel safe in their neighbourhood. Like our community, police echo this sentiment, and our people work incredibly hard to respond to issues that arise as well as support partners to address wider issues that might be behind people committing offending,” Ewers said.

“These wider issues are almost always incredibly complex and require co-ordinated approaches from a range of agencies, communities, iwi and social services to work together. Police remain focused on what we can do to prevent offending and we reiterate that by and large Whangārei is a safe place to live and work.

“Police are naturally concerned whenever there is an increase in any type of offending, although we expect that there will be fluctuations from time to time for specific types of offences. Anyone who finds themselves in a situation where they don’t feel safe should find a way to leave the area safely and call police on 111.”

The anti-violence sentiment was evident at the burial for Shayden Kenana Rua Trevor Perkinson, 25, held at Maunu Cemetery on Thursday. Perkinson was protecting a woman from being robbed at the service station when he was stabbed, and his heroic act is being praised by many.

No arrests have been made yet over the death. Hundreds turned up for the burial, with hundreds of vehicles having to line Cemetery Rd as they could not all fit in on-site.