Rotorua dirt bike thefts: Young children break into stores

Two children believed to be as young as 6 and 10 smashed through a glass door of a Rotorua vehicle dealership and stole two dirt bikes.

The thieves were caught on CCTV as they cased out Autohaus Rotorua on Lake Rd on a recent Sunday afternoon before smashing a piece of timber through the front door.

The footage showed them choosing the bikes they wanted and, at times, being unable to hold their weight before riding off. They caused thousands of dollars in damage and are yet to be caught.

The theft is one of four break-ins at three Rotorua motorbike stockists in the past two weeks as dirt bikes become hot commodities for thieves. Store owners say they believe adults committed the other break-ins.

Children break into Autohaus Rotorua and steal dirt bikes.

Rotorua police say they have noticed an increase in bike store burglaries and anti-social riding around the city and believe organised criminal gangs are responsible.

The Rotorua Daily Post reported last week that 11 thieves in three vehicles stole three dirt bikes valued at $40,000 at 10.30pm on Monday.

The owners of all three stores – Autohaus Rotorua, Patterson O’Connor Motorcycles on White St and Bike Force Rotorua Motorcycles on Lake Rd – have told the Rotorua Daily Post the thefts are potentially crippling at a time when their businesses are already struggling financially.

Autohaus Rotorua is targeted

Autohaus Rotorua dealership principal Michael Meyer said two young children, whom he estimated to be aged 6 and 10, went to the dealership on July 28.

He said they threw rocks at the building, smashed wing mirrors of vehicles parked outside and stole mail from their lockbox.

Eventually, the two children broke into the dealership.

Autohaus Rotorua on Lake Rd. Photo / Kelly Makiha

They stole a pink Forza bike and an orange, white and black Forza bike, worth a total of $4000. The younger of the two tried to take a children’s 4x4 bike but took it back inside the showroom when they couldn’t get it to start.

Meyer said the sound of the alarm ringing didn’t seem to bother them. The footage shows the younger of the two gesturing to the older child to hurry up and leave.

Meyer said an interior wall was damaged and the children damaged another bike as they dragged the stolen bikes out.

“It’s the damage they cause that far outweighs anything.”

The pink bike the younger child was riding was later found nearby in the Bunnings car park.

The damage after thieves smashed the window of Autohaus Rotorua on August 3.

Autohaus Rotorua was also targeted on August 3 at 3am when four adults wearing hoodies and travelling in a white double-cab ute went to the dealership and threw a bottle jack at the showroom window.

After several attempts, the glass broke and they got inside. Three dirt bikes valued at $6000, including the same pink bike that was stolen and recovered days earlier, were stolen.

As the ute sped off the pink bike fell off the back of it, causing extensive damage, Meyer said.

There was also damage inside the showroom, including on tiles as the bottle jack was thrown inside.

Family business

Meyer said Autohous Rotorua opened in 1994 and he took over running it from his parents 10 years ago.

They will no longer stock dirt bikes. He said they would continue to order them for customers, get in parts and service them, but it wasn’t worth having them in the store.

“At the moment, it’s not worth the aggravation, sleepless nights and insurance excess and premiums. We aren’t just talking about money, we are talking about our sanity.”

They had also made other security changes including chaining all bikes down, parking vehicles at access points and upgrading their security cameras and alarm systems – all at a substantial cost.

“It’s hard making ends meet at the moment anyway. We are in survival mode.”

Patterson O’Connor Motorcycles is targeted

Four bikes valued at $40,000 were stolen after thieves struck Patterson O’Connor Motorcycles about 1am on August 8.

Owner Bryan Patterson said the business had been targeted with ram raids in previous years and there were bollards at the front but in the latest burglary, the thieves smashed the front windows.

“We know they come in and case it out beforehand. They ask for cheap parts and don’t buy them and have a look around and leave so when they come back they know what they are looking for.”

Patterson O’Connor Motorcycles on White St. Photo / Kelly Makiha

All security footage, including of suspects, had been handed to police, Patterson said.

He said their insurance excess was now $20,000 and it was unlikely it would be worth making a claim.

He said police arrived quickly and saw the last rider taking off on the stolen bike.

“They’re not allowed to chase them. We are getting hit by these idiots and no one can do anything.”

He said something needed to change because businesses couldn’t cope.

“It makes you wonder, why are you in business? .... We are over it. We are absolutely over it.”

What the police say

The Rotorua police area prevention manager, Inspector Phil Gillbanks, said one man had been arrested and five motorbikes had been seized as police investigated bike store burglaries and antisocial riding.

No one had yet been charged relating to the two break-ins at Rotorua Autohaus and the recent break-in at Patterson O’Connor Motorcycles.

Gillbanks said police had seen a rise in antisocial dirt bike riding after recent burglaries which had targeted motorcycle stores and they believed organised criminal gangs were involved.

He said it wasn’t always possible to arrest the riders at the time.

“When we are not in a position to do so we will follow up with the riders at their address. With the assistance of the Rotorua Lakes Council camera team, we are able to make headway with this.”

He urged locals to help identify the riders and to pass on information to police.

In response to Patterson’s comments about police not being able to chase people on dirt bikes, a police spokeswoman said that when deciding when to initiate any pursuit, police staff must make an assessment. This included assessing things such as threat, exposure, necessity and response.

The spokeswoman said the assessment process guided decision-making around whether a pursuit was safe and justifiable. A pursuit would not be initiated if the circumstances were unsafe.

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.