Police report towns of Waikato are seen as easy target.
Last week in the Coromandel area one person was arrested on a warrant, a vehicle was shot at in Whangamata, drivers of three stolen vehicles fled from police at Thames and a stolen Audi was seized with a search warrant in Paeroa.
Monday, March 28
Two drivers were processed for alleged drunk driving at Paeroa overnight. Their results were 1038 and 575 and both have been charged.
A Turua man was arrested for allegedly breaching a police safety order after an earlier alleged family harm incident at Hauraki Rd. He was held in custody overnight for court in Hamilton.
Police executed a search warrant at a Corbett St, Paeroa, address in relation to a stolen Audi vehicle that had been involved in a pursuit near Hamilton a couple of nights earlier. The investigation is ongoing.
Tuesday, March 29
A Paeroa man was arrested after he allegedly stated to a family member that he would kill them with an axe. He has been charged and will be appearing in court soon.
Wednesday, March 30
A Waihi man was arrested on two warrants and was sought by police in relation to a criminal investigation. He was held in custody overnight for court in Hamilton.
A Whangamata man was arrested for wilful damage after he allegedly shot a vehicle several times at the marina, causing damage. The victim and the suspect are known to each other. He has been charged and will be appearing in court soon.
Thursday, March 31
A Waihi man was arrested at Victoria St for assault in relation to an alleged family harm incident. He allegedly pushed and shoved a female victim to the ground. He was held in custody overnight for court in Hamilton.
Saturday, April 2
A stolen vehicle fled from police at Ngati Maru Highway but was lost. Nearby another two stolen vehicles were identified and they also fled. Police allege the offenders were operating together.
The two stolen vehicles were located at Willoughby St with four male youths who were allegedly attempting to steal another vehicle. They fled from police in the first two vehicles but police abandoned the pursuit due to the offender's dangerous driving when they attempted to ram a police vehicle and drifted all over the road in the main streets of Thames. One of the stolen vehicles was found dumped nearby.
A dairy was burgled at Waitakaruru later that night. Police are waiting on forensic test results from the recovered stolen vehicle and are following up on solid leads to identify the offenders.
A Paeroa man was arrested for injuring with intent to injure and strangulation in relation to an alleged family harm incident that occurred the day prior. He will be appearing in court soon.
Crime Prevention Message
Saturday night's escapade at Thames is becoming a common occurrence all across the Waikato. Waikato rural towns are being targeted by offenders. Some offenders are local and others come from places like Hamilton and Auckland as they think rural towns are an easy target.
It's likely these offenders were planning on committing further crimes after stealing these vehicles, most likely a ram raid, burglary or robbery of a commercial premises.
This offending is extremely dangerous and puts the offenders themselves, business owners, members of the community and police officers at risk of serious harm. There's also the thousands of dollars worth of damage to businesses caused by their actions and the victims left behind to clean up the mess.
Some of the types of commercial premises being targeted are sports clothing stores, electronic goods, jewellers, licensed premises, dairies and vape stores.
You can help by calling police 111 immediately if you see any suspicious vehicles or behaviour around commercial areas of town, especially after dark.
Police contacts
Report crime online at 105.police.govt.nz - If it's already happened call 105. If it's happening now call 111. For traffic matters call *555 (mobile phone only). To remain anonymous call Crimestoppers 0800 555 111. Paeroa, Waihi and Whangamata police station public counters are open business hours and police are working in the area 24/7.