Editorial: Stop the thieves winning

Two thefts from overseas tourists in four weeks has certainly riled our readers.

Last month, a German couple lost irreplaceable photos and other items after parking in Walton St and walking to the Town Basin.

On Sunday, six Japanese girls had their van broken into within minutes of parking at the Town Basin.

I fielded several calls yesterday from readers relating their own crime experiences at the Town Basin, and their disgust that someone is targeting visitors coming to Northland who leave with the sour taste of theft in their mouths. Short-term, the Advocate is in a position to invite the victims of the latest crime back. They were young Japanese girls learning English in Auckland, who had saved for their trip north. As their host "Dad" says, they now feel anywhere north of Auckland is unsafe. That's sad - but thanks to Jeroen Jongejans (Dive Tutukaka!), Tutukaka Holiday Park and Snapper Rock restaurant we can offer the girls some free tourism treats if they can come back. That's fantastic short-term - long-term, what do we do?

One caller yesterday related how she avoided taking visitors to the Town Basin, for fear of having their vehicle broken into. As she pointed out, that means businesses are missing out on local dollars too.-

Another caller suggested that someone could operate a business keeping an eye on visitors' cars, for a small fee.

If there is a security firm operating at the Town Basin, now is a perfect time to review patrol times.

The Whangarei District Council has invested millions in getting the right sort of person to the Town Basin and I suspect they would have the blessing of many ratepayers in investing in keeping the wrong sort of people out.

Overall though, we can only reiterate that the best ambassadors and the best security guards for Whangarei are locals. -

I'm not suggesting you start tackling thieves but rather than avoiding the Town Basin, we should make it as heavily populated as we can so that it's impossible to break into a car without being seen. Otherwise the thieves win, and the town loses.