Furious Cyclone Gabrielle-impacted residents have started “meting out their own justice” to thieves stealing from their damaged properties, a community advocate has been told.
And amid claims of looting on a “reasonably regular basis”, police top brass have issued a warning to Hawke’s Bay locals that they “strongly discourage people taking the law into their own hands”.
Esk Hills resident Kristin Speers - who, along with Louise Parsons, is an advocate for those who lived in decimated Esk Valley and Whirinaki communities - has gone public with fresh security concerns as the seven-month anniversary of the disaster nears.
Advocates are also calling for a greater focus on monitoring criminal and suspicious activity in the area; that includes the provision of CCTV paid for out of the Proceeds of Crime Fund.
“We are constantly hearing stories about looting out our way,” Speers told the Herald.
“We hear about it far and wide... Louise has got friends in Pākōwhai so she hears on a reasonably regular basis about stories of looting there.”
Speers said claims circulating included “locals catching looters, thieves... whatever you want to call them... on their properties and dealing with them themselves... dealing with them their own way.”
When asked if that alleged justice being spoken of included assaults, Speers said: “That is what it sounded like to me, yes.
“I probably wouldn’t because I am a woman, but if I was a big burly guy and confronted someone on my property, I would do the exact same thing. You have to do whatever you can do at the time to get them out of there or scare them off.”
Speers approached the Herald after it reported last weekend how thieves had broken into a home in Awatoto, on the outskirts of Napier, and stolen building tools and other items as repairs are being carried out to the flood-damaged property.
Acting Inspector Caroline Martin said police were aware of the “changing nature of cyclone-affected communities” as the recovery phase accelerates.
That included the beginning of the rebuild, with construction sites being set up and different people coming and going, that involved related security and public safety concerns, she said.
But Martin said it was imperative police were notified of any incidents immediately and urged locals not to dish out their own justice.
“We strongly discourage people taking the law into their own hands, putting themselves in harm’s way.”
Martin said that over the past six months, Hawke’s Bay police had deployed additional resources into flood-affected areas.
That included frontline staff completing high-visibility patrols and a dedicated team of community officers connecting with and working alongside impacted communities.
“We are working hard to make sure people feel safe,” she said.
“At times police have seen some of the impacted areas experience an increase in dishonesty reporting. Our team are monitoring and investigating reports of crime, providing support and deploying our patrols to areas where these incidents are occurring.
“It’s incredibly important that police are notified of incidents so we know what’s happening in these communities and can make inquiries. Knowing any patterns or trends also helps inform our deployment of resources.”
Thefts from damaged properties emerged as a serious post-cyclone concern among impacted communities in the days and weeks after Cyclone Gabrielle battered Hawke’s Bay in mid-February.
Some residents went as far as arming themselves at night, checkpoints were set up by residents blocking access to those who didn’t live in the areas, while others erected signs that stated: “You loot, we shoot”.
Speers said crime and people scoping out properties was still a “big problem”.
Amid the growing community concerns, Speers had asked police to prioritise calls to their 105 non-emergency number from cyclone-impacted areas.
Such a system was put in place in the weeks after Cyclone Gabrielle hit.
Speers is also behind a group seeking the installation of a CCTV network in vulnerable areas. The backers of it want it to be funded by the Proceeds of Crime Fund (POCF); a fund created by cash and other assets seized by police that have been obtained directly or indirectly from the proceeds of crime.
“There is not going to be any one measure that is going to resolve the issue [of looting] completely,” Speers said.
“[CCTV] is just one tool in the toolbox to use.”
A private security provider has estimated a network covering Bay View, Whirinaki and Tāngoio would cost about $50,000. A wider system across many other impacted areas in Hawke’s Bay would cost about $150,000.
One of the four criteria for funding from the POCF - which is currently not taking fresh applications - was backing “initiatives that address crime-related harm to communities and improve community wellbeing”.
“Of all the communities that need it right now, it is us,” Speers said. “There are so many vulnerable pockets of Hawke’s Bay that have been decimated by the cyclone.”
Minister of Justice Ginny Andersen, who has previously met with Speers, said police were “dedicated to community safety” and had been working hard to reassure impacted areas “in what may have been extremely challenging times”.
In July, she visited Hawke’s Bay and attended a community meeting to discuss crime concerns.
Andersen said while applications to the POCF were currently paused, funding CCTV for the cyclone-impacted areas “is something we could look at [in] the future when the next round of funding is available”.
Other avenues for potential funding for camera networks could include local councils, Andersen added.
Anyone who sees suspicious behaviour is asked to call 111 if it is happening now, or 105 after the fact. You can also use 105.police.govt.nz to report any situation that doesn’t require immediate attendance or to get in touch for general advice or queries.
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He extensively covered Cyclone Gabrielle at the time of the tragedy. Neil joined the Herald in 2014 and has 30 years of newsroom experience.
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