Police hear complaints

Kaitaia's senior police officer, Senior Sergeant Geoff Ryan, and area commander Inspector Wendy Robilliard heard from some grumpy business people in Kaitaia last week, but looked to them for answers as well as questions.

There was no denying that Kaitaia had a problem, mainly thanks to juvenile and youth offenders, and both officers were keen to discuss, and support, any suggestions regarding how it might be dealt with. Businessman Dave Collard provided a list of commercial burglaries in Kaitaia over the past three months, 104 offences in all, along with four instances of major damage being done to glass, saying he suspected there had been more that he was not aware off. And the consequences were potentially serious.

Some businesses were in a very precarious position, and unable to carry the costs arising from thefts and damage. If something wasn't done, some businesses would go to the wall.

Craig Harrison said his family's business, Harrison Cape Reinga Tours, brought 20,000 people to Kaitaia every year, many of them saying they believed Kaitaia had a problem.

"Tourists are getting to know this isn't a safe place," he said.

"When you start putting up roller doors it isn't a good look. You drive around this town at 3am and you'll see people everywhere. They see a police car head out of town and they're into it."

He believed the answer was to invest in the best security camera system available, and to monitor them around the clock. He did not believe it would be difficult to find volunteers to do that, while the Far North District Council had "heaps" of money to fund the equipment.

"They're going to spend $5 million getting water here, but soon there won't be anyone here to drink it," he said.

Graham Eccles had more faith in police dogs.

The typical thief, he said, smashed a window, grabbed what they could and ran, but not far.

"They're stuffed by then, so they hide," he said.

There were plenty of dark corners, giving police very little chance of finding them, but it would be a different story if a dog was immediately available.

Mr Eccles added that his business had been broken into four times in a month. His home had also been broken into, and now he was afraid to sleep at night.

"It ruins your life," he said, adding that he knew of one business owner who was sleeping in a van adjacent to his premises.

There was also criticism of the judicial process, reference being made to one youth who had been sentenced to 80 hours' community work in return for $8000 worth of damage, with no recompense for the victim.

"There's not much we can do about that," Sergeant Ryan replied.

"You would have more influence over the judges than I do."

Arresting offenders could also be difficult, Mr Harrison said. He had pursued thieves who had broken into his business, and found them, with stolen property in their vehicle. A solitary police officer arrived but was not prepared to arrest them without reinforcements.

"I didn't blame him," Mr Harrison added.

Grant Baker warned that Kaitaia was reaching the point where people were becoming very angry, and "something's going to happen".