Police called to Epsom motel Abella Inn in Auckland 163 times in a year

The Abella Inn in the Auckland suburb of Epsom. Photo / Google Maps

By Finn Blackwell of RNZ

Police have been called more than 160 times in the past 12 months to a motel in the Auckland suburb of Epsom, according to police data.

Armed officers and police dogs were called to the Abella Inn at the end of last month, after reports of an assault that ended with two people in custody. No one was injured.

At the time, a motel staff member told RNZ reporters that the incident was none of their business.

One Auckland hotel booking site priced the Abella Inn at $109 a night.

RNZ can reveal the address – which the Ministry of Social Development said did not act as emergency housing – has had 163 dispatch applications from July last year to the end of June 2024, an average of more than 3 calls a week.

The callouts range from breaches of electronic monitoring bail (EM bail), family harm, and serious assault, to disorder, general theft and trespass.

Data revealed in an OIA showed 37 EM breaches, 10 breaches of the peace, 19 instances of family harm and 21 public relations callouts.

Auckland Eastern area commander Inspector Jim Wilson said the dispatches included events that occurred outside the buildings, but excluded events considered to be police generated like traffic stops or bail checks.

He said not all of the events would have been attended by police, and that policing required constant prioritisation of resources to respond to emergency demand.

“Police will always prioritise and attend the jobs where peoples’ lives or safety are in danger,” he said.

Eden-Albert Local Board member Jack Tan lives in the area and said it has had its fair share of troubles.

“Anecdotally, based on what I see and hear around the community, there is a fair amount of theft of the letter boxes, parcel theft, quite a bit of car theft from time to time, you see that evidently with broken glass on the ground,” Tan said.

“You hear about robberies every so often, but it’s the general sort of crime that you tend to see in any neighbourhood, to be fair.”

He said incidents had increased over the past five years, but that the situation was improving.

“Luckily, in the last year it’s come down a bit, by feel, by what you hear in the neighbourhood,” he said.

Tan said volunteer groups patrolled the neighbourhood, but more police would make a difference.

“Short term, having more police on the road would be a huge deterrent,” said Tan.

“In the long term, there has to be a bit more work done around providing support, providing security by way of these accommodation places where they seem to come from.

“I don’t really necessarily have the answer to it, I don’t think many people do, but having more presence would certainly be helpful,” he said.

Tan said context was important in circumstances like this.

“I wouldn’t say we’re a major hotspot for crime in general, so while there are people who are concerned and scared for their safety or for their belongings, you have to put it into perspective and think that, actually we’re doing pretty well.”

A police spokesperson said there could be a variety of reasons why police services are requested.

“This is particularly the case at sites where accommodation is shared or temporary,” the spokesperson said.

“For privacy reasons, we are not able to comment in detail on every single instance that police may attend at a specific address.”

The Abella Inn declined RNZ’s request for comment.

- RNZ