COROMANDEL PENINSULA OUTSTRIPS AUCKLAND WITH GROWTH IN PROPERTY CRIME

If you thought the rise in crime is impacting only our larger metropolitan area, then it’s probably time for a reset in those thoughts. The latest crime statistics have been released and Thames Coromandel is showing a whopping 26% increase in property crimes for the 12 months ended September. The increase for all of New Zealand is 19% and Auckland up 20% so the Thames Coromandel figures are well ahead of nationally reported crime numbers.

Property crimes are the main driver of the increases with Thames Coromandel Burglary and Theft numbers up 26.4% compared to 19.4% for New Zealand. Auckland property crimes are up 20.1% and Hamilton City up 28.3%.

The crime spike on the Coromandel happens around peak holiday season periods although August 2022 also had a lift in reported property crimes.

In contrast though, Hauraki District showed an increase in violent crimes (up 12.6%) but a reduction in property crimes, down 2.8%.

In August CFM approached the police after numerous reports of a lack of police presence around the Coromandel with some locations without any local cover for long periods of time. Waikato East Area Commander, Inspector Dean Anderson told CFM “We continue to review our allocation of resources right across the district and have increased our frontline resource in Waikato East in recent years, including having officers to call on 24-hours a day.

There is always a need to place our staff where the demand is, and Police have always operated within a highly dynamic and challenging environment.

Police’s deployment model has staff in locations based on the numbers of incidents and seriousness of offending. We prioritise on demand and intelligence based on the current picture”.

He said that all responses to calls for service or reported incidents are subject to risk assessments by staff and supervisors. Where necessary the Waikato District Command Centre will also review the deployment response and can allocate any additional support from across the Waikato District as needed.  If it is determined that two or more staff are required to attend for reasons of safety then the appropriate deployment is made.

The police intention according to Inspector Anderson has always been to deliver the best service possible to ensure our communities are safe and feel safe.  I can assure you all of our staff work hard to do the very best for their communities.

Inspector Dean Anderson encourages people to report all crime saying accurate crime reporting allows police to plan the deployment of our resources to the locations they are needed.  He would always encourage people to report offending – saying that even if Police are not able to attend immediately, there are often forensic and other investigative avenues available which allow police to follow through and hold those responsible to account.

Information can be given to Police by contacting 111 if it is happening now and 105 after the fact. If for whatever reason you do not want to speak to Police directly, you can contact Crime Stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online via www.crimestoppers-nz.org