Police, NZ Post urge public to report thefts after mail stolen from letterboxes in Ngunguru

Richard Burgess found his letterbox in the middle of the driveway but didn’t believe mail was stolen. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Police and New Zealand Post are urging Northlanders to immediately report thefts from letterboxes after residents in Ngunguru and Tūtūkākā took to social media to vent their frustration at having their mail stolen.

A social media post urged those living on Manawa Dr and Munro Pl to check their letterboxes, saying most were rummaged through about 2.45am on Monday and some mail was found in a reserve and on a nearby street.

Police were not immediately aware of any reports of thefts from letterboxes in Whangārei, but encouraged anyone who had been the victim of dishonesty offending to report it as soon as possible.

Richard Burgess found his wooden letterbox in the middle of his driveway on Munro Pl on Monday morning but didn’t believe mail was taken.

“Someone obviously took a bit of a swipe at the letterbox post with a sledgehammer or something similar and pushed them over. I don’t think a vehicle was used because there are no visible wheel marks,” he said.

New Zealand Post area service delivery manager for Northland, Ian Revington, said instances of mail or parcels being stolen after they have been delivered were disappointing.

He said if mail or a parcel was stolen after NZ Post has completed delivery, the theft became a police matter and people needed to report it.

“We also encourage New Zealanders to report any suspicious activity in their neighbourhood. Because these thefts are reported to the police, NZ Post is not able to keep a record of all instances of theft after delivery.

“In the event of residential or rural customer letterboxes being tampered with, or if mail was stolen, we work out a pre-arranged solution with the customer on a case-by-case basis. This could be a period of delivering mail weekly, delivering mail to the door, or the customer collecting mail from the nearest depot.

“In the event of a letterbox being damaged/vandalised, we will arrange with the customer to hold their mail for postponed delivery until they have repaired or replaced the damaged letterbox, or for them to collect mail from a depot.

Suspicious activity can be reported to police on 111 if it is happening now, or 105 if it is after the fact.

In 2020, letterboxes in Parua Bay were raided and their contents were either stolen or dumped.