There have been 400 hundred burglaries reported in an 8 week period in Hawkes Bay according to an article in hawkesbay.co.nz, many of them were from homes left insecure or unlocked.
Other towns have also experienced similar crime waves, such as the small town of Martinborough which suffered 45 burglaries over an 11 days and led to the setting up of a vigilante group to protect local residents. See more: Small town NZ life - a town under siege.
John Key burgled by 'P' addict
Property crime strikes at every level of society within New Zealand, much of it is related to drug abuse. John Key's Remuera home was burgled by in 2007 by a 'P' user with 140 prior convictions who was recently sentenced to 5 years prison on 27 charges. It came as no surprise to hear that the man was out on bail or under supervision at the time of the offences.
Crime and drugs in New Zealand
According to data published by Nationmaster NZ holds the dubious reputation for having the world's highest reported figures for victims of crimes against property, 14.8% of the total population have been victimised by property crime.
It also has the world's highest percentage of cannabis users and the third highest percentage of amphetamine users over the age of 15.
For today's posts see: latest posts
Showing posts with label Burglary Rates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Burglary Rates. Show all posts
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Small Town NZ Life - Martinborough A Town Under Seige
Martinborough is a town in South Wairarapa, population 1300.
Growing frustration amongst the good residents of the town caused them to take it upon themselves to do something about a crime spree of burglaries.
In April they set up a night patrol after a tidal wave of 45 burglaries struck the town over 11 days.
However, local youths clashed with the vigilantes, which led to a shot being fired and police ordered the group off the streets. Since then break-ins have soared again and local residents are living in fear. This is a fairly typical story of one family's experiences of living in the town:
By Nathan Crombie of the Wairarapa Times
"Martinborough resident Winifred Bull, 63, said she fell victim to burglars along with four nearby neighbours in a single evening only 11 days after a self-appointed night patrol in the town disbanded in the wake of a brawl involving two members and a group of teenagers last month.
Mrs Bull said her husband David was in Wellington overnight a week ago Tuesday and she was home alone with her two dogs, Poppy and Ruby.
She said the couple shifted to Martinborough about 12 years ago to a "somewhat isolated" house on the edge of town and the animals were bought as guard dogs, the first after home invaders killed Reporoa woman *Beverly Bouma in 1998.
"The dogs heard something outside just before 11pm and started barking again after midnight when I was in bed reading."
Mrs Bull decided to ignore her dogs' reactions and found the next morning that burglars had taken the couples' gate off its hinges, smashed her car window and stolen her wallet from the vehicle.
"I don't feel safe. I knew about the huge number of burglaries earlier this year and thought the night patrol had solved the problem.
"But we were given a false sense of security. The burglars never went away," she said."
Firearms taken in latest break-in
A few days ago 66 year old Martinborough farm worker Dave Harris' home was burgled and a shotgun and high-powered rifle along with ammunition were taken as he and his family were asleep in the house.
When he reported the break-in to the sole police officer in the town he was told that there were three other burglaries in the town the same night. Police seem to be woefully ill-equipped to deal with the crime spree.
It's hardly any wonder the town felt it was under under siege but now the stakes have been raised and high powered weapons and ammunition have been taken. Fears are that the situation is set to get a lot worse and some people have said they're thinking of sleeping with a gun next to their bed.
Many are calling for the night patrol to be re-established, older people are saying its presence made them feel safer. Who is there to protect them now?
* Beverly Bouma was killed in an uprovoked and premeditated home invasion by four men in November 1998. See link The Reporoa Killing
see also 400 hundred burglaries in 8 weeksin Hawke's Bay
For today's posts see: latest posts
Growing frustration amongst the good residents of the town caused them to take it upon themselves to do something about a crime spree of burglaries.
In April they set up a night patrol after a tidal wave of 45 burglaries struck the town over 11 days.
However, local youths clashed with the vigilantes, which led to a shot being fired and police ordered the group off the streets. Since then break-ins have soared again and local residents are living in fear. This is a fairly typical story of one family's experiences of living in the town:
By Nathan Crombie of the Wairarapa Times
"Martinborough resident Winifred Bull, 63, said she fell victim to burglars along with four nearby neighbours in a single evening only 11 days after a self-appointed night patrol in the town disbanded in the wake of a brawl involving two members and a group of teenagers last month.
Mrs Bull said her husband David was in Wellington overnight a week ago Tuesday and she was home alone with her two dogs, Poppy and Ruby.
She said the couple shifted to Martinborough about 12 years ago to a "somewhat isolated" house on the edge of town and the animals were bought as guard dogs, the first after home invaders killed Reporoa woman *Beverly Bouma in 1998.
"The dogs heard something outside just before 11pm and started barking again after midnight when I was in bed reading."
Mrs Bull decided to ignore her dogs' reactions and found the next morning that burglars had taken the couples' gate off its hinges, smashed her car window and stolen her wallet from the vehicle.
"I don't feel safe. I knew about the huge number of burglaries earlier this year and thought the night patrol had solved the problem.
"But we were given a false sense of security. The burglars never went away," she said."
Firearms taken in latest break-in
A few days ago 66 year old Martinborough farm worker Dave Harris' home was burgled and a shotgun and high-powered rifle along with ammunition were taken as he and his family were asleep in the house.
When he reported the break-in to the sole police officer in the town he was told that there were three other burglaries in the town the same night. Police seem to be woefully ill-equipped to deal with the crime spree.
It's hardly any wonder the town felt it was under under siege but now the stakes have been raised and high powered weapons and ammunition have been taken. Fears are that the situation is set to get a lot worse and some people have said they're thinking of sleeping with a gun next to their bed.
Many are calling for the night patrol to be re-established, older people are saying its presence made them feel safer. Who is there to protect them now?
* Beverly Bouma was killed in an uprovoked and premeditated home invasion by four men in November 1998. See link The Reporoa Killing
see also 400 hundred burglaries in 8 weeksin Hawke's Bay
For today's posts see: latest posts
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Family Home Burgled 7 Times in Less Than 2 Years
Today's Herald is carrying a very sad story about the Renaud family of Glen Innes whose home has been burgled 6 times and their car broken into once whilst it was parked on the driveway.
The thefts started less than a year after they moved into their home in 2007.
The lone parent, who has 2 young children, has spent over $5,000 on an alarm system and increased security measures but still her home has been targeted: so far this year it's been burgled 4 times in four months.
When the paper questioned the police they said they had no knowledge of the break-ins at the home but that burglaries in the area had dropped in the past few months. Could that be because they're not recording them all?
The statistics for 2008 showed a shocking increase in burglaries.
Burglaries increased by 12.3% in 2008
The Auckland district crime statistics show that there were 6,306 recorded burglaries in dwellings during the 2008 calendar year, an increase of 12.3% over the previous year. That's a rate of 150 offences per 100,000 of the population)
Resolution rate of 10.5%
Of those crimes of 661 were resolved - that's a resolution rate of only 10.5% (about the same as the previous year)
It will be interesting to see how the figures for 2009 pan out, there's already been an alarming jump in the number of armed robberies reported by the press in the Auckland region this year, I can't imagine that house burglaries have dropped in the same time period.
Meanwhile families like the Renauds get by as best they can but one has to wonder if they police could do more to protect them, or to catch those responsible.
The thefts started less than a year after they moved into their home in 2007.
The lone parent, who has 2 young children, has spent over $5,000 on an alarm system and increased security measures but still her home has been targeted: so far this year it's been burgled 4 times in four months.
When the paper questioned the police they said they had no knowledge of the break-ins at the home but that burglaries in the area had dropped in the past few months. Could that be because they're not recording them all?
The statistics for 2008 showed a shocking increase in burglaries.
Burglaries increased by 12.3% in 2008
The Auckland district crime statistics show that there were 6,306 recorded burglaries in dwellings during the 2008 calendar year, an increase of 12.3% over the previous year. That's a rate of 150 offences per 100,000 of the population)
Resolution rate of 10.5%
Of those crimes of 661 were resolved - that's a resolution rate of only 10.5% (about the same as the previous year)
It will be interesting to see how the figures for 2009 pan out, there's already been an alarming jump in the number of armed robberies reported by the press in the Auckland region this year, I can't imagine that house burglaries have dropped in the same time period.
Meanwhile families like the Renauds get by as best they can but one has to wonder if they police could do more to protect them, or to catch those responsible.
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