Wellingtonians warn of spike in car crime in central city

At least 10 people have taken to social media to report instances of car crime in Wellingtion. Photo / 123rf

Wellingtonians are warning of a spike in car crime in the central city, but police say they've seen no increase.

At least 10 people have taken to social media over the past couple of weeks, warning others about their car windows being smashed, valuables being stolen and attempts made to hot wire and steal their vehicle.

Many believe the incidents are connected with the break-ins being centred around Tasman St, the Basin Reserve and the Wilson carpark on Willis St.

Beau Rebel was moving from Central Otago to Auckland with all of his belongings when he stopped for the night at the Marksman Motor Inn near the Basin Reserve.

He woke on January 7 to find someone had smashed his car window and stolen countless items.

"I didn't hear back from police for about three or four days so I followed up, and by that time someone had found one of my bags in the Wellington High School field, and someone else had found our passports in the Wilson carpark on Willis Street."

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Rebel asked police to obtain the footage recorded at the Willis St carpark, but was told the footage was long gone.

"Eight days later I got a call from a police officer who told me all the CCTV footage had been erased."

"He said they only hold it for about eight days, and they never got round to it."

Beau Rebel was moving to Auckland with all his belongings and woke on January 7 to find his car broken into. Photo / Supplied

Rebel took his search online, hoping to find some of his possessions being flicked off.

"I started to look on Trade Me and Facebook to see if any of my stolen stuff would pop up, and that's when I started to notice all the other reports of break-ins."

After deciding to put a call out on Facebook Group Vic Deals, similar stories began to flood in.

"About six on Tasman Street, another four at the Wilson carpark and then five others around the Basin Reserve area, all in the past two weeks."

Recent graduate Dylan Clark woke on Monday, January 18 to find his and other cars smashed and robbed along Tasman Street.

Dylan Clarke found his car smashed and his belongings gone. Photo / Supplied

"I got in and didn't realise anything was wrong for a solid minute. Looked around and realised everything was out of place and the glove box was open with things just everywhere, so I was like, hold on."

He said it was a gut-wrenching start to the week.

"I had some documents with my name on them and probably even the address and knowing that some random has seen all of it, it's terrible.

"Knowing they took all of my girlfriends' clothes and are either wearing them or selling them, it's an awful feeling for her as well."

He said it wasn't until he took a walk down the street that he realised he was one of many all in one hit.

"I got out of the car and saw a few other cars on the same street were all smashed as well.
"It looked like someone had a really good go."

Clark filed a report with police but has heard nothing back. Like many others, he felt he and his girlfriend had no option but to turn to community Facebook group Vic Deals.

"I didn't realise how much this is going on until it happened to me. Now I'm in it and I'm seeing so many others posting. It seems like it's happening a lot lately."

Just a five-minute walk across town, Victoria Hopgood had her car smashed into and robbed on Monday, January 11, and then again one week later parked at the Wilson carpark on Willis St.

"I got a call from the Wilson carpark saying that my car had been broken into near the rear window.

"They missed my credit card in the front seat but they ended up taking a bag full of my undies, which is a bit weird."

Hopgood promptly got the window fixed, but returned one week later to find the same result.

Victoria Hapgood's car was broken into on Willis Street earlier this month. Photo / Supplied

"I parked back in the carpark as I always do, but then I got a call the following Monday from a police officer saying it had been broken into again through the same window.

"Nothing was taken this time but they did rummage through the car a lot more."

Similar to Rebel, Hopgood filed a police report after both break-ins, but follow-ups with police have gone unanswered.

"There seems to be not that much of a push from police.

"They are helping but they are just clearly either understaffed or overwhelmed with the response they've been getting."

Hopgood turned to the web and was shocked to see Rebel's post alongside countless others.

"It's definitely shone a light on the fact that there has been a lot of break-ins.

"It's just sad because I thought this was just a one-off thing but it just shows that it's on a much larger scale."

Police are aware of a few reports of vehical thefts 'anecdotally'. Photo / 123rf

Acting Inspector Warwick McKee said Police weren't aware of a spike in car-related crime.

"Anecdotally we are aware of a few reports of cars being stolen across Wellington, however there is no indication of a larger trend," he said.

"Police take vehicle thefts seriously and work with communities through Neighbourhood Watch programmes to help prevent this kind of criminal activity.

"We can't do it alone and we need local communities to report any suspicious activity they see, when they see it."

A Wellington student, who the Herald agreed not to name, had her car broken into on January 15 at the same Willis St carpark as Hopgood.

She said there's no doubt it's a serious issue and can leave many like her helpless.

"I'm on Uni break at the moment so I rely on my car a lot to get to client's houses for my cleaning job. So obviously I'm out of work now because my car isn't drivable.

"It seems there's a lot too. There's been three others in the same car park as mine, and then another two just down the street this week just off Willis Street."

Similar to many others voicing their concerns online, she felt going to the police was a dead end.

"The police haven't been helpful. They only called to tell me about it, but they haven't called to check up on it or anything."

Wilson Parking said it acknowledged and observed the recent break-ins in its car park and around the city, and is working to minimise the risk.

"Wilson Parking takes the safety of our customers and their vehicles very seriously. We also acknowledge that theft is always a risk in parking both on and off the street.

"To reduce the number of incidents, Wilson has, and continues to make considerable investment in theft ex-car prevention."

New Zealand Police currently have no data on car break-ins and theft, due to their being no standalone offence for it.