A West Auckland family have been repeatedly harassed - and in one incident their car was graffitied. Photo / Supplied
A West Auckland family have been repeatedly harassed - and in one incident their car was graffitied. Photo / Supplied
Racist harassment of a West Auckland family that included having their car tyres slashed and dead animals put in their letterbox was extremely disturbing, the Human Rights Commission says.
"Everyone has a right to feel safe, particularly in their own homes, and we hope the perpetrators are caught quickly," chiefHuman Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt said.
The family's 35-year-old mother - who moved to New Zealand from South Korea a year ago and asked not be identified because of safety concerns - said she had endured five weeks of torment.
This culminated on Sunday when a threatening letter was put in their letterbox.
"Get the f*** out of my country motherf***** before I exterminate you myself, your cat eating son of a b***," the letter said.
Police are yet to catch those who tormented the family.
A nasty note was left in the family's letterbox. Photo / Supplied
Hunt said the ordeal highlighted the need for a database listing how many criminal offences were motivated by hatred based on race, colour, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability.
"At the moment, the police do not know how many of the crimes reported to them have been directed at victims because of these factors," he said.
"We need to better understand how many hate crimes are occurring in our community so we can work together to find solutions."
He said a report published by the commission this month called It Happened Here was filled with many examples of similar harassment between 2004-2012.
"And we have reason to believe there continue to be many such instances today."
The recent campaign of hate began on May 26 when a car parked in the family's garage in Massey and another on the street had tyres slashed.
The mother of the harassed family notified police, but they told her it was probably just mischievous teenagers.
She then put up CCTV cameras that caught the perpetrators on June 4 tagging a white car parked on the street with red spraypaint.
On June 11 and June 16, CCTV footage caught people leaving a dead mouse and then a dead pigeon in the family's letterbox. On Sunday, the threatening letter was left behind.
The mother said police then came to her house, bringing four cars and police dogs.
"But I do not understand why they could not find the guy. I still have not heard from the police about my case," she said.
Despite the CCTV cameras, police are yet to find the perpetrators.
Their car tyres being slashed was the first attack in an ongoing series of alarming incidents. Photo / Supplied
The Massey community is now rallying around the terrified family and posting their support on a community Facebook page.
"I still believe this is a peaceful country and people enjoy working together," he said.
Waitakere Area Commander Inspector Stefan Sagar said they had spoken with the family and carried out a number of inquiries.
"We will be continuing our inquiries, which will include speaking with neighbours on the street," Sagar said.
"We would like to reassure the public that police take matters of this nature seriously and will do everything we can to hold whoever is responsible to account.
"Police have spoken with the individuals concerned, have carried out a number of inquiries, including canvassing CCTV footage and undertaking a forensic analysis from the scene."
The family, made up of the mother, her husband and two preschool children, live in an otherwise quiet area of Massey, West Auckland.
