Samaia King had the windows of her Mazda Demio smashed on January 4, before somebody attempted to hot wire the car later the same day. Photo / Supplied
Samaia King had the windows of her Mazda Demio smashed on January 4, before somebody attempted to hot wire the car later the same day. Photo / Supplied
Glass, wires and debris lie scattered throughout Napier woman Samaia King's Mazda Demio.
It's a sobering reminder of just how far thieves will go to steal the car which is a favoured vehicle in the Hawke's Bay underworld right now.
King, a resident of Hospital Hill, had the windows ofher Demio smashed in what she believes was an attempted break-in outside her house on Saturday.
Later that day, someone made another attempt to take the car, yanking wires left, right and centre in a bid to hot-wire it.
It comes six months after thieves first tried to take it, again outside her Hospital Hill house, and ruined her ignition system in the process.
Police say anyone in the region with a Demio needs to be vigilant right now. Hospital Hill residents also need to be wary after three reports of attempted thefts in recent days, police say.
Samaia King said she felt "unsafe" and "mad" after her car was broken into twice in two days. Photo / Supplied
Police confirmed that they received a report at 9.35am that King's vehicle had been broken into on Hooker Ave on January 4, before receiving a subsequent report at 11pm involving the same vehicle.
A police spokesperson said they were "unable to attend to undertake forensic examinations on 4 January due to high demand and priority events taken place".
King said the incidents made her "unsafe" and "mad that I'm having to fork out money on other people's damage on belongings that I have had to work so hard to be able to purchase".
"Due to where my house is situated, I cannot hear anything that happens where my car is parked. It makes me feel unsafe and the fact I don't know whether my car will be safe or not whilst I sleep is horrible."
Samaia King said more needs to be implemented by police to combat car break-ins. Photo / Supplied
King added: "I know the police can only do so much, but I feel like there needs to be something in place to help with these things."
Hawke's Bay Police said that they received three reports of vehicles being broken into or interfered with from January 4 until January 6 in Hospital Hill, Napier.
Hawke's Bay CIB Detective Steve Leonard said this time of year can see an increase in vehicle thefts, with Mazda Demios likely targets.
There were 11 incidents of attempted or actual thefts of Demios during the first weekend of 2020.
Leonard said the vehicles were often stolen for "joyrides" and later found crashed, burned out and non-operational.
"The actions of these offenders can put members of our community at risk when they are involved in dangerous driving, crashes and fleeing driver incidents."
A police spokeswoman said being a victim of these types of crime is not only "inconvenient", but also leaves the victim feeling "vulnerable and exposed".
"Incidents like this are a timely reminder that security should be top of mind for everyone," she said. "Prevention is a focus for police, and we are much more effective when we have public backing.
"Lock your doors and windows, always lock your vehicle - even if it is in your driveway - and keep valuables stored safely and out of sight. Where there is room to improve security, make sure it's taken care of it today rather than waiting until tomorrow.
"Don't be complacent, and encourage others around you to do the same. If you see anything suspicious going on in your neighbourhood, report it to police immediately, no matter how trivial or uncertain it might be. Keep an eye out for your friends and neighbours."
