Repeat burglary victim calls for adults to face consequences over children's crimes

Three burglaries in 12 months is three too many for Waitomo Papakainga chief executive Katie Murray. And she believes that putting the burglars' parents in the dock would go a long way to solving the problem.

The burglary of Ms Murray's organisation was one of 16 reported in Kaitaia that weekend alone, the intruders breaking through exterior doors to get into all three buildings, and the second-hand clothing shop next door. Once inside they smashed through locked interior doors, taking four laptop computers and scattering documents from one end of the complex to the other.

All the locks had now been changed - the local locksmith would be able to retire on her custom alone, she said - and the damaged doors replaced.

"It was devastating to arrive here on the Monday morning and see what they had done," Ms Murray added.

"There was a huge mess, and ours was just one of 16 burglaries that weekend. And the police here have one forensic officer. How's he supposed to keep up with that sort of crime rate?

"I told the cops that they need to start charging the parents. They told me they can't do that, but I don't care. That's what I want to do. I want to see the parents charged, and I want to see them paying reparation. The kids haven't got any money, and if their parents have to pay for what they've done they'll be much more likely to keep tabs on them."

Burglars were once again running rampant in Kaitaia, she said, and the town had to be getting tired of it. Insurance never covered the cost of replacing property and repairing damage, assuming insurance was affordable in the first place. And some victims were being targeted time and again.

What's it like for the intermediate, the college and the RSA?" she asked.

"They're getting hit again and again and again.

"The police tell me that we would need a law change to hold parents responsible, so let's start. They tell me that we can talk to the judge about getting reparation out of the parents. It doesn't happen very often, but it can be done.

"Why the hell should this small community keep putting up with this? One burglary a week is one thing; 16 in one weekend is another. We can't keep allowing this to happen. We have to take more responsibility, as a community, as parents and as whanau.

"What do we say when one of our kids comes home with a new laptop? Do we believe him when he says someone gave it to him? How believable is that? Kids do what their families do, or what their families let them do, and if families are going to let them go out stealing they should be held responsible for that.

"If everyone refuses to put up with this, things will change."

Ms Murray accepted that many people were afraid to stand up to criminals, of any age, because of the possible repercussions. She understood that, but believed there were plenty of people who could and should be making it clear that their tolerance had been exhausted.

"Enough is enough," she said.

"I'm not taking any more of this, and neither should anyone else in Kaitaia."

The irony, she added, was that it would probably be Waitomo Papakainga that ended up working with the burglars when they were caught.

"We probably already know them," she said.