Burglars target 'hot spot' near Eden Park

Residents living near the stadium say construction work there is helping to conceal criminal activity. Photo / Bradley Ambrose

Burglars are targeting houses near Eden Park, and residents say construction activity at the stadium is helping criminals and they believe they are being watched.

One woman, who asked not to be identified for fear it would put her home at risk, said she had been burgled twice since December.

The latest break-in was last week, and she discovered it when she returned from holiday.

Police say they are aware of the "hot spot" and are patrolling the area.

The woman said there was a very "short window of opportunity" for the first burglary, in December.

"We were burgled while we were out for two hours, so it's hard to feel like you're not being watched.

"We've had a little spate," she said, adding that two neighbours' homes had also been broken into recently.

"A number of people suggest that when there's construction or street work, there are increased burglaries - not that it's the construction people, but that there are so many people around that it's easy not to be noticed. People are busier but there's a lot of people on the street.

"There are people in and around our houses ... it just makes it easier for a burglar to blend in."

She lost jewellery, bikes and electronics including her television set, and is fitting an alarm.

A resident of Reimers Ave, who also wished to remain anonymous, said she had taken to writing down the registration plates of any cars parked in the street outside her house.

She had spoken to police about the spate of burglaries.

"They said it's coincidental but we've been here 10 years. We got burgled when we first came in 10 years ago but other than that we haven't been burgled."

Avondale police intelligence supervisor Trudi Pumipi said there was a "little hot spot around Eden Park" where there had been five burglaries in the past seven days.

Two other burglaries had occurred in neighbouring streets but there was no theme to the offending.

No burglaries were reported in the week before that, she said.

"It's not a massive problem for us ... we're dealing with low numbers really.

"Burglary is a problem for the whole western area, it's not just around Eden Park."

Ms Pumipi said the area was near several main arterial roads, which meant a lot of traffic passed through the area. This was not necessarily because of the construction.