Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

More reports of dodgy men approaching Tauranga schoolchildren

Sandra Conchie
By Sandra Conchie
Multimedia Journalist, Bay of Plenty Times·Bay of Plenty Times·
31 Aug, 2018 06:14 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Arataki School is the latest to post warnings for parents after a student says he was chased by an unknown man. Photo / File

Arataki School is the latest to post warnings for parents after a student says he was chased by an unknown man. Photo / File

Arataki School is the latest local school to warn parents about suspicious strangers after being alerted to one of their students being followed by an unknown man.

The school issued a warning to parents this week after the principal was informed that a student was chased by an unknown man as he headed home from school.

It is the latest in a series of similar incidents around the city police are investigating.

Principal Shelley Blakey told the Bay of Plenty Times that the alleged incident happened between 2.45pm and 3pm on August 27.

Read more: Police warning of men approaching school children in Tauranga
Police confirm 'link' in man suspiciously approaching Tauranga schoolchildren

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

However, Blakey said without parental permission she was not prepared to disclose further details.

"I prepare not to reveal too much detail at this stage, but we're treating the matter seriously and are working with police," she said.

Blakey said police were making regular patrols around the school before and after it finished for the day, and extra staff would be on duty around the surrounding streets.

All efforts were being made by the school to keep the children safe, and teachers also had "age-appropriate" safety-related discussions with the students in their classrooms to remind them what to do if something similar occurred..

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Arataki School's warning comes after five similar incidents since July 5 involving a suspicious man approaching schoolchildren in the Otumoetai and Matua areas.

Two incidents happened in the Matua saltmarsh, one in Pillans Point, plus two separate incidents at Ferguson Park and Little John Drive.

Police earlier confirmed they were treating these cases as linked, but believed an incident involving a Greerton Village School student could be unrelated.

The Bay of Plenty Times has also learned an 8-year-old Te Puna Primary student has told police that while biking to school on July 3 he was followed by two men.

Discover more

Tauranga Daffodil Day volunteers out in force today

30 Aug 07:28 PM

Garry Poole wraps up at Tauranga council

30 Aug 09:42 PM
New Zealand

Anihera Black allegations: Police find no evidence of paedophile ring

30 Aug 03:30 AM

Police operation underway on Waihi Rd, Tauranga

30 Aug 03:14 AM

The boy's mother said two men followed her son down a long driveway in Lochhead Rd as he tried to evade them.

Her son described the suspect vehicle as a dark-grey people-mover believed to be an Odyssey with blacked-out registration plates.
"Even one incident of this nature is one too many," the Te Puna mother said.

In a written response, Detective Sergeant Alan Kingsbury said police were aware of the Arataki School and Te Puna Primary incidents which were being investigated.

"At this stage there is no evidence to suggest the two are linked.

"We understand that these types of incidents can cause concern for parents, but our message to the community remains the same – be alert, not alarmed.

"We actively encourage people to tell children and young adults to report anything that makes them feel unsafe or uncomfortable [to someone] such as a trusted adult, teacher or the police."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Tribesmen's alleged 'hotbox' murder after gang member's unauthorised online shopping

16 Jun 07:30 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Waihī house fire: Probe into cause of man's death

16 Jun 06:09 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Bunnings' $53m Tauranga store set to open

16 Jun 03:00 AM

The woman behind NZ’s first PAK’nSAVE

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Tribesmen's alleged 'hotbox' murder after gang member's unauthorised online shopping

Tribesmen's alleged 'hotbox' murder after gang member's unauthorised online shopping

16 Jun 07:30 AM

Mark Hohua, known as Shark, was allegedly beaten to death by fellow gang members in 2022.

Waihī house fire: Probe into cause of man's death

Waihī house fire: Probe into cause of man's death

16 Jun 06:09 AM
Bunnings' $53m Tauranga store set to open

Bunnings' $53m Tauranga store set to open

16 Jun 03:00 AM
BoP dairy targeted by armed robbers

BoP dairy targeted by armed robbers

16 Jun 01:00 AM
How one volunteer makes people feel seen
sponsored

How one volunteer makes people feel seen

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP