Thieves target coastal areas

Sandi Adams has urged the public to form neighbourhood watch groups in their neighbourhood to fight crime.Photo/John Stone

A $55,000 boat and tools, fishing, diving and boating gear worth thousands of dollars have been stolen as thieves target rural and coastal properties in Whangarei.

Whangarei police have issued a warning to rural and coastal property owners to make sure their places are well secured , and invited locals to set up community watch groups, after a number of burglaries this year.

The situation has reached a head with at least eight burglaries over the past week, including one at Whangaumu Bay where a $55,000 Haines Hunter boat, together with its 115HP outboard, trailer and fishing gear, was stolen between June 9 and 13.

Police spokeswoman Sarah Kennett said that in the past week properties in Cemetery Rd, Maungatapere, two at Oakura, two at Tutukaka, and one at Helena Bay had also been burgled, with the majority of the properties unoccupied most of the time.

Many of the properties were ransacked and stolen items taken included fishing and diving gear, petrol cans, electrical tools, outboard motors and boats.

She said anybody who saw any suspicious activity in rural or coastal areas should ring 111 immediately and police would respond.

"We want as much information as possible from the public on this. People need to take down registration numbers and clear descriptions of vehicle colours, descriptions of any people seen and any other information."

Ms Kennett said that anybody approached and offered cheap fishing, diving or boating gear should contact police as it was likely stolen and anybody who bought stolen goods could be charged with receiving stolen goods.

Meanwhile, residents behind a vigilant action scheme at Whangarei Heads have managed to reduce the number of burglaries in their area from one each week to about two in the past six months.

Frequent burglaries of homes and baches at Ocean Beach and surrounding areas prompted members of a neighbourhood watch scheme to up the ante in the last six months.

On Friday, a resident witnessed the occupant of a car remove a chain from the driveway at Whangarei Heads' Surf Club and enter the premises.

The man, who didn't want to be named for fear of retribution, called his neighbour who went to the club and managed to scare off the would-be burglars. The car registration number was noted and passed over to police.

"We're friends and neighbours who keep watch around us but we became more active in the last six months because there's been a disproportionately high number of burglaries," he said.

Neighbourhood support coordinator in Whangarei, Sandi Adams, has encouraged communities to form neighbourhood watch groups and keep a tab on illegal activities rather than just rely on police to fight crime.

"We have to try and take ownership of what's going on in our communities rather than rely on police," she said.

There are about 80 neighbourhood schemes throughout Whangarei.