Until the mid-late eigthies it was very common to find unlocked doors of houses and cars in New Zealand. Property crime was very rare and only happend occasionally in the big cities. People would leave a stranger alone in their house, and say something like: "I have to go to Wellington for a few days, make yourself at home, just shut the garden-gate when you leave".

Now New Zealand has the highest property crime rate in the world. It has to do with the "new world order here", where the government followed the advice from the world-bank, and adopted "free market" strategies. Before, every citizen was certain that the government would take care of her/him. But in line with the "other developed coutries" the welfare budget had to be slashed. Now we have the highest rate break-ins in the world. This week is not the worst week. Also, only real break-ins are counted. Your mower that got stolen from the lawn isn't counted here.

From an article in the North Shore Times Advertiser 1may97 pg 13

Watch and spread word of strangers in neighbourhood

By Sergeant ROD BELL

This week there has been an marked increase in the number of burglaries around the Northcote area, with some roads being hit more than once and several of the offences close to one another. This probably means the burglars are going from door to door and, when finding an empty home, helping themselves.

Remember, if someone knocks on your door and asked for a unknown person, let others in your street and Neighbourhood Watch area know so that if this person does the same to one of your neighbours the police are called.

An example of this occurred last week just out of Warkworth. A young person was observed outside the home of an off-duty officer and, when approached, said he was look- ing for work.

He was told there wasn't any, and the officer took the registration number of his car. This person then broke into a house further down the road and took, among other property, a chequebook. He wrote out a cheque from the book for cash and went to a local bank to present it.

At the counter he gave the cheque to the teller, who just happened to be the owner of the chequebook. Thanks to the registration number taken earlier by the off-duty officer and this person's face on the security video in the bank, a Northland man is now helping Warkworth police with their inquiries.

On the local front, on Monday, April 28, a resident in Sunnynook noticed a male person enter a house. He phoned Ken Howard, the Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator at Sunnynook, who contacted other local residents and also stopped the owner of the house from entering his property while Mr Howard spoke to Constable Farrell on his cellphone, directing him to the house from 3 across the park.

As a result a 33-year-old Northcote man is to appear in the North Shore District Court on a charge of burglary.

The Takapuna crime control unit has continued its recovery of stolen property, which now includes more than 150 computer components -- keyboards, monitors, hard drives, speakers, etc -- which are believed to have been taken in burglaries on the North Shore over the last six to eight months. Constable Toll is in charge of the case. She can be contacted on ph 489- 4008.

Over the recently completed school holidays, Police Youth Services in conjunction with Blue Light and the Untag programme supervised a number of young people painting out graffiti and cleaning rubbish off beaches and a local reserve.

A total of 230 hours' community work was completed by these young people. Hopefully this will improve the look of the North Shore and, just as importantly, instil a sense of pride in them.

I will finish this week with a quote: Nobody was ever heard to say on his deathbed, "I wish I had spent more time at the office".

North Shore burglaries reported in the week from Monday, April 21, to Sunday, April 27:

COATESVILLE -- Coatesville Highway.

ALBANY -- Taroka Close, Paremoremo Rd.

TORBAY --Deep Creek Rd, Glenvar Rd.

BROWNS BAY -- Carlisle Rd, East Coast Rd (3), Redwing St, Celina Place, Oaktree Ave.

ROTHESAY BAY -- Helvetia Drive.

MAIRANGI BAY -- Mayfair Cres, Sycamore Drive.

MILFORD -- Shake- speare Rd, East Coast Rd.

TAKAPUNA Pupuke Rd, Killarney St.

BAYSWATER Creamer Ave.

DEVONPORT Rutland Rd, Victoria Rd, Church St.

SUNNYNOOK Sunset Rd, Sunnynook Rd.

FORREST HILL -- Arrow Rd, Cheval Drive, Selwyn Cres.

HILLCREST Stanaway St.

NORTHCOTE Gladstone Rd (3), Heath Ave, Paruru Ave, Dudding Ave, Queen St (2), Compton St, Woodside Ave, Fairfax Ave (3).

GLENFIELD -- Sunset Rd, Hamilton Pl, Windy Ridge Rd, Charnley Grove, Valecrest Pl, Easton Park Parade, Wyvern P1, Hall Rd, Chivalry Rd, Glenfield Rd.

BIRKENHEAD -- Roseberrs Ave. Palmerston Rd.

BIRKDALE Rosecamp Rd, Castleton St, Eskdale Rd (2),Lanigan St.

BEACHHAVEN -- Telstar Pi, Lancaster Rd.

back to the index