It is outrageous that someone should be so bold as to walk into their home in broad daylight and steal their car.
It is hardly surprising that they have had enough, and of no consolation that this is not a new phenomenon.
They can also be understood for believing that the law, including the police, has lost the power to persuade those who behave like this that the chances of their being caught and punished, appropriately, have not diminished.
The old adage that crime doesn't pay doesn't always mean much these days. But the reason for that is more complex than a perceived inability of the police to catch them.
Many years ago then Minister of Justice Doug Graham told the writer that the courts' problem was that many offenders really had nothing to lose.
They had no money or assets, so fines didn't mean much. They were unemployed, so their time wasn't especially precious either.
Most importantly, the shame that once attended a criminal conviction had ceased to serve as a deterrent.
One-time resident District Court judge David McKegg once told the writer that when it came to the rugby league fraternity, the judicial committee had much more power than he did, in that it could deprive someone who offended against rugby league standards of behaviour on the field of their sport, 'hurting' them much more than he could.
The problem isn't so much that the police can't catch these people (although burglars still have little need to fear arrest) as that the law doesn't do much to set them straight when they are caught.
Most - and their numbers are not as great as some would believe - simply don't care.
If they want something they take it.
Rarely do they have any understanding of the impact they have on their victims, and if they did they probably wouldn't lose sleep over that either.
It is highly unlikely that the person who entered the Wheeldons' home and helped himself to their car appreciates how he frightened his victims, and instilled in them a long-lasting, perhaps permanent, fear for their wellbeing.
It should be emphasised that Mr Wheeldon holds the police who serve his community in high regard. He does not accuse them of failing to do their duty.
What he sees is an under-resourcing of the police to the point where they cannot do their job effectively.
He will not be alone in that either, but this degree of lawlessness is not a symptom of ineffective policing per se.
And increasing police resources is unlikely to fix it, even if the Far North can hope to be considered favourably when the new recruits promised by Police Minister Paula Bennett are posted.
She can put a cop on every corner, but at best that will only put a lid on the problem. The extraordinary burgeoning of lawlessness that we have seen over the last generation demands a more comprehensive response.
Less than 40 years ago Kaitaia had a police presence of one sergeant and three or four constables, with one car between them and sole-charge stations at Mangonui, Houhora and Broadwood.
There was no CIB. In the event of very serious offending, Detective Ken Cathcart would come to Kaitaia from Kaikohe. That happened maybe two or three times a year.
The Kaitaia Magistrate's Court sat one day per month, to hear police charges, followed next day by traffic matters and everything else from Children's Court to civil matters and even divorce proceedings.
This month the various courts in Kaitaia will sit 15 times, not counting the Saturday morning arrest courts, presided over by a JP.
The writer doesn't know how many police officers are stationed in Kaitaia these days, but it is probably 10 times the 1980 muster. And everyone, police included, agrees that more are needed.
This year numbers have been bolstered by temporary reinforcements, and Kaitaia can just about guarantee to be at or near the top of the list when the new recruits begin graduating.
Kaitaia's police station, once described by a police source as monolithic, will soon prove to be a little on the small side.
How did it come to this?
Rogernomics got the ball rolling in 1984, when the government took to the economy, and by default society, with a hatchet.
That's when widespread unemployment was invented, exacerbated by a social welfare system that laid the foundations for the sense of entitlement and lack of personal responsibility that we see today.
The best hope of changing that might well lie in the 'demarcation zone' that is now proposed, allowing a large degree of responsibility for deciding how government funding, much of it currently wasted, should be spent to best effect to be devolved to the community. If that doesn't work there is unlikely to be a Plan B.
The one thing we can be grateful for is that while we are plagued by very high levels of lawlessness, we don't see the level of violence that appears to be the case elsewhere.
Most police officers would probably agree that the average Far North thief is actually not a bad bloke. Stupid, perhaps, but not evil.
The bad news is that violence levels are increasing, slowly, and that will probably not be true in 10 years' time.
The best hope for the Wheeldons is that the community will take a more active role in reigning in the criminals among us.
One thing that thieves tend to have in common is families - they generally turn up when the offender is in the dock, which is a little late - and they could do much more to control the behaviour of their young people than most do.
The only other option would be to invest in sturdier locks, and to accept that some people, particularly the elderly, will continue living in fear.
One last thought. With all due respect to Police Commissioner Mike Bush, we don't need new laws and penalties for hate crimes.
We have enough already, and they are more than adequate to deal with the despicable woman who abused and assaulted the young Muslim woman in Huntly a week or two ago.
Megan Walton has admitted one charge of insulting behaviour likely to cause violence and two of assault.
What would charges that specifically reflect her motivation achieve?
Adding 'hate crimes' to the statutes won't benefit anyone.
Police and the courts have all the criminal laws they need. All they have to do is use them.
