Burglars hit holidaymakers' homes through cars

Burglars are robbing holidaymakers by jotting down car number plates, obtaining their home addresses through NZ Post and targeting their houses while they are away.

They are targeting cars loading on to the Cook Strait ferry, and police believe other areas like the long-term carpark at Auckland International Airport are also magnets for burglars.

Authorities have told the Herald on Sunday that a law change is needed to keep burglars from being able to access the personal details of holidaymakers.

Police revealed the problem during investigations into Operation Lexus - a stolen car ring in which thieves were thought to abuse information obtained from the Motor Vehicle Register.

By taking down a number plate and presenting it to any PostShop with $2.25, thieves are given the name and address of the registered owner of the car.

Police believe burglars would also abuse the system to get personal information, visiting long-term car parks and writing down number plates.

Again, a simple request for ownership details through any PostShop would lead criminals to the home of the owner of the car.

It would allow burglars to case out the home of potential victims with the comfort of knowing that the occupants could be out of the country.

Hugh Hanna, a senior adviser at the Ministry of Transport, said he had been made aware of burglars watching cars being driven on to the Cook Strait ferry.

He said their absence indicated that the homes where the cars were registered to were empty.

Mr Hanna said restrictions to the register were being vigourously pursued by Transport Safety Minister Harry Dynhoven. He said there was space in the programme for passing new legislation later in the year that could allow the law surrounding the register to be changed.

Mark Bond, a police officer working on security at Auckland airport, said he believed it likely that the system could be exploited by burglars, and he was eager to discover the extent of the problem.

"From a crime prevention perspective, I can only reiterate the standard advice to the public: remove identifiable documents from vehicles, valuables, spare keys and, of particular relevance in this instance, garage door openers."

Mr Bond also said he was concerned about the ease of vehicle registration access. He said people travelling overseas should tell friends and neighbours that they are going, so their property will be monitored.

He said discussions with the holders of the vehicle register would examine ways of protecting the information held, so it could not be abused. He said it was difficult to measure the number of burglaries of people who had parked at Auckland airport. He asked for people who had been burgled while away on holiday, and who had also parked at the airport, to contact him.

Danny Thompson, of private investigation firm Auckland Investigations, said a lack of basic security in cars parked at the airport - or anywhere - would leave homes vulnerable.

Some motorists would leave garage door openers in plain sight inside cars left in long-term car parks.

The openers could allow thieves easy access to a house through the internal garage.

Mr Thompson said some motorists also left personal information inside cars that would allow criminals to find their homes without having to do a Motor Vehicle Register check.