Burglaries on the rise in North

This ramraid on the Parua Bay GAS service station last month cost owner Ross Brown more than $20,000 in damage and lost stock - it came six days after another burglary cost about $8000 in lost stock and repairs. Photo / John Stone

There have been nearly 10 burglary victims a day across Northland.

Latest crime statistics show the number of "victimisations" for unlawful entry and burglary in the Northland region over the past financial year rose to 3645 compared with 3171 for the same period the previous year.

In February this year the Northern Advocate revealed that the chances of having a burglary solved in Northland was one in eight.

Inspector Al Symonds says Northland police have a daily, weekly and monthly analysis and plan around how staff are deployed to prevent burglary.

Police say they have a plan of where to deploy staff to prevent burglaries and the reduce number of victims.

But Parua Bay GAS service station owner Ross Brown, whose business was hit twice last month, said the cost of a burglary could be huge.

"We were hit twice in six days. The first one they broke a window and that cost about $8000 in lost stock and repairs, but the next one they drove into the building causing extensive damage," Brown said.

"They took about $6000 worth of cigarettes and about $8000 of stock [and] caused about $15,000 worth of damage to the building.

"We now have to spend thousands more trying to prevent it happening again with bollards out the front and CCTV cameras."

Brown and his wife were two days into a 14-day holiday when the second raid happened, forcing them to come home. "It ruined our holiday. It's not just the costs but the fact you've had your personal space invaded," he said.

He called for tougher penalties for burglars - "jail time rather than the slap on the wrist or ankle bracelet so they can stay at home".

"Also, police need more resources up here. The Government seems to have abandoned us up here and we need more officers targeting burglars."

There was also a 22 per cent rise in abduction and kidnapping with a 22 per cent rise in the region and a 30 per cent rise in robbery, extortion and related offences. The number of serious assaults not resulting in injury increased, as did the victims of aggravated robberies.

The chances of having a car stolen also increased over the past fiscal year.

However, the number of sexual assaults fell 18 per cent and the number of assaults fell slightly.

Inspector Al Symonds said Northland police had a daily, weekly and monthly plan around how staff were deployed to prevent burglary.

"Police staff do make every effort to ensure all lines of inquiries are followed up when possible. When we receive forensic hits for these offences we act on them. However, the lack of evidence or leads does result in some offences not being able to be resolved."

He said the latest increase in aggravated robberies was hugely concerning.

"We have recently received six additional investigative staff to the Northland Police District for the 2016-18 year. These extra staff will provide additional support and cover for existing staff and will support a focus on preventing and investigating serious and volume crime."

Police also did more bail checks on known offenders and worked with other agencies, including Corrections, to ensure release conditions were monitored and any breaches enforced.

"We place victims at the heart of everything we do. Given what a tight-knit community Northland is, those victims are our friends, neighbours, relatives and sometimes even ourselves. That's why we need to continue to work together to keep Northland a safe."