A local business owner is frustrated with what he describes as a lack of deterrent for criminals.
In May, Shane Jordan's logging site in Matau was broken into. Not only has it taken him over half a year to get a resolution, but that resolution has left him with a financial loss.
He says the burglary resulted in not only his tools and fuel being stolen and never recovered, but the offenders also caused thousands of dollars' worth of damage to his property.
Repairs to just one of the diggers damaged by the offenders cost $25,000, says Shane, while the resultant lost earnings caused by the crime he estimates as being over $100,000.
"We couldn't do anything until the digger was fixed. I tried to source second-hand parts for the digger but I couldn't. It took 13 days to get the parts I needed. The machine was parked right in the middle of the site."
With the digger unable to be used, Shane was unable to transport logs to the port, meaning he lost income from the sale of the logs.
"Before the lockdown, log prices were low but after lockdown they had picked up. We couldn't do anything. The lockdown put a big strain on the business and to have this on top is just a kick in the guts.
"All I was focused on was running the business, taking care of my workers, paying my insurances, and putting food on the table for my family, this was just an added stress that wasn't needed. We couldn't regain the money we lost, we just had to carry on."
Shane says Police spent four days at the site, collecting enough evidence to charge four offenders with the break-in. His frustration isn't with the police but rather what he sees as being the lack of consequence the offenders have faced.
Police arrested four people, but two of them were not charged due to lack of evidence. A third pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary and was ordered to pay $295 in reparation. He was sentenced to four months' community detention and six months' supervision. The fourth person arrested is still before the courts.
He says regardless of the consequences for the offenders in terms of charges, he is frustrated with the lack of financial penalty.
Shane says while he encourages people to report crime, given the Police spent four days finding evidence, he feels their efforts were "wasted".
"Only receiving a small amount is disheartening. I understand this isn't the Police's fault, they can only do so much."
Shane is going to go through the Police Complaints Authority to see if anything else can be done.
"It just seems wrong that this is the outcome."
Regarding his frustration with the lack of financial consequence, Shane says, "It's not the result I wanted. There's no deterrent in our justice system for breaking the law."