Kimbrian Van Loggerenberg felt disrespected and shocked when police wouldn't investigate the crime he had reported because it didn't meet the criteria for any action to be taken. Photo / Supplied
Kimbrian Van Loggerenberg felt disrespected and shocked when police wouldn't investigate the crime he had reported because it didn't meet the criteria for any action to be taken. Photo / Supplied
When Kimbrian Van Loggerenberg bought a television online that never arrived he went to the police with all the information about the person who scammed him, including a name, address and bank account number.
But, instead of looking into his case he was told there would be no police investigation as the crime simply wasn't a priority.
Sadly, it's a story that's being played out in many parts of the country as police struggle to keep up with the number of online scams.
A police media spokesperson told Open Justice that online fraud was running rampant in New Zealand and police needed to wait for the victims to stockpile before taking action.
"Police receive many more complaints than we can reasonably investigate," the spokesperson said in a statement.
"Police must assess each complaint against certain criteria to help prioritise offences for investigation, which includes targeting prolific offenders.
"As part of this process, police assess the available information and whether offender details, bank accounts or phone numbers are linked to other offences."
Van Loggerenberg purchased the television on Facebook Marketplace in July.
The seller had wanted $350 for the television, plus $47 for shipping, but the Aucklander only paid $250 with the balance to be paid once it arrived. It never did.
Despite being able to provide police with the Facebook profile of the offender, the pickup address, their bank account and phone number, police said they couldn't help.
The lack of action left Loggerenberg frustrated.
"Criminals have a royal time, I pay a $30 speeding fine because of the tone of the letter I receive from the police about debt collecting and prosecution, but they steal $250 and they're as free as a bird."
A senior constable explained, in an email to Van Loggerenberg, online fraud was prolific and complaints were complex and time-consuming to investigate, and that officers had to prioritise cases.
"Your complaint has been assessed and has not met the threshold for investigation."
Van Loggerenberg was told if the bank account number he provided matched another crime in the future then police "may well" revisit his complaint but it had been "filed" in the meantime.
"The file will therefore be inactivated unless there are more reports citing the same account number.
"If the offending is ongoing we then assign the case for investigation."
Cybercrime is running rampant in New Zealand yet police won't investigate until an offender has created multiple victims. Photo / 123RF
When contacted by Open Justice, the officer declined to talk about why crimes were going uninvestigated and the problems police faced.
However, a day later Van Loggerenberg received some welcome news.
"A detective contacted me and said, 'we have decided to reopen the case'."
When pressed for an explanation why, the officer wasn't able to answer, leaving Van Loggerenberg to believe it was only because Open Justice was involved.
Van Loggerenberg, a South African immigrant, believes there could be thousands of Kiwis being denied justice as cases are being shelved without investigation. And, he has a dire warning about what the lack of resourcing and inability of police to make inquiries could mean in the future.
"When there is no police presence then you are going to have crime and criminals will push the boundaries.
"Before long that line is going to move and a higher level of crimes won't be investigated because of their checklist and need to prioritise."
He said the recent situation reminded him of the time just before he left South Africa 14 years ago and his house was stripped bare by thieves while he was on his honeymoon and police wouldn't respond.
"Police said there was too much crime around and there's too much violence."
Despite knowing cybercrime was on the rise police didn't have the data "to hand" to provide any details about trends within the past 12 months.
Labour's new Minister of Police, Chris Hipkins, who replaced Poto Williams in June after the Prime Minister said she had lost her "focus" amid rising gang tensions, didn't respond to requests for comment.
National's police spokesman Mark Mitchell said in an ideal world police would investigate every crime but they were currently struggling to cope with a sharp increase in serious violent crime.
"Police quite simply don't have the personnel or resource available to respond to every report and are having to prioritise," Mitchell said.
He didn't detail what National would do differently if elected next year.
Police said they would continue to warn the public about the dangers of using social media to buy and sell goods given the lack of consumer protection.
If Facebook Marketplace or other social media sites were used then there were a number of options people should use to protect themselves including meeting the other party in person, never handing over money until you've seen the goods and if you can't, walk away.
