Kaitaia businessman David Collard has appealed to Northland District Commander Superintendent Russell le Prou to give the police in his town the support they need to get on top of a months-long spate of burglaries and wilful damage.
Mr Collard, who said yesterday he had yet to receive a response, told Superintendent le Prou that Kaitaia was under siege by burglars, and nothing the local, under-staffed police were doing was having any impact.
Thousands of dollars worth of damage was being done and the town was becoming desperate.
"It may be that a dog handler needs to be stationed here overnight for a few weeks so he can be on the spot when needed, or more personnel so a night shift can be re-established," Mr Collard said.
He was hearing of business owners talking about sleeping in their premises overnight so they could catch burglars in the act and dish out some summary justice.
