More and more victims of theft across Aotearoa are speaking out, frustrated with police inaction when reporting crimes. Video / NZ Herald
Last week, the Herald covered the story of Braden Barker, a 20-year-old apprentice who had his tools stolen from his car.
After tracking down his stolen items on Facebook Marketplace - and the alleged thief - he sought police help only to be told no officers were able to attend.
He never got his tools back and was forced to cover the costs himself with insurance only covering a fraction of what they were worth.
Since then, more stories have emerged of similar cases where Kiwis have been left "frustrated" by police in action over stolen property.
'Sick to my stomach' community left in fear after break-in spree
A Tauranga resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said he suffered "countless sleepless nights" after his tools were stolen from his van.
Parked down a long dark driveway, through a gate, he never thought he would be targeted.
He went to his local police station the same morning and gave them the information he had, which included security camera footage of the man but he didn't have much hope.
"After telling all my workmates and other trades we work with I soon was convinced I'd be lucky to get my tools back and would be surprised if the cops even bothered with the case," he said.
"It really starting sinking in what had happened and each job I went to that day I noticed more and more tools missing."
Like many theft victims, he turned to Facebook in search of a lead.
"I was given a few names but none matched the description. [But] what I did notice were the amount of people commenting saying things such as 'my van got hit too' or 'our tools were also stolen' ... I made contact with these people and exchanged stories and information each of us had gathered."
Photo / Supplied
Teaming up with other victims in the area they began "hunting" for the man themselves.
"We were given multiple bits of information. The type of car, who he is, and where he tends to hang out.
"I forwarded the information to the cop telling him where his car was but I didn't get much back from him."
Frustrated, the man began "losing faith" while many more vans in the area got hit by the same offender.
He never got his tools back but the man was arrested and sentenced to six months in prison.
He believed if the police had acted sooner, many more robberies could have been stopped.
"Countless times he was sitting prey in his car ready to be arrested but the police didn't do a single thing to act on it … This man just kept getting away with it.
"Devastated was an understatement. I felt as if the cops could have done so much more," he said.
"This situation made everyone in the local community unsafe. I felt sick to my stomach that someone thinks they can come onto my property."
'Traumatising' home break-in
Serena Grace was at work when her house got broken into.
The 21-year-old was living alone at the time and said she went into "full panic mode" when she noticed the garage door was up and the locks had been cut.
"I walked into the house and all the cupboard doors in the kitchen were open. I went through into my room, saw all the drawers tipped out and the first thing I noticed was, my cameras were gone," she said.
She ran straight to the neighbour who told her they noticed the garage up from early that morning.
"At that point it kind of made me feel like I had been watched."
She called the police and lodged a report but was told they wouldn't send anyone out.
Less than two days later she was alerted by a friend to a listing on Marketplace.
"It was an exact match," she said. "It felt so surreal, seeing that it was right there, and immediately, I added all of that to my report with the police.
Serena Grace's camera listed on Marketplace. Photo / Supplied
"They said to keep an eye on it, and advised me not to make contact with the person."
A day later Grace saw the same profile had listed a car in an area she recognised.
She tracked down the hotel it was parked outside and was able to pinpoint the alleged thief's name and location.
She updated the police but still, no immediate action was taken.
"I was like, 'but he's right there like, surely selling stolen goods is enough proof that he's like worthy of some kind of charge or fine?' They said that the Crimes team gets five robberies a day, and I was like 'but if you stop one person, surely that's like at least one less robbery a day?' "
Months went by before her statement was taken and six months on she still hasn't gotten her camera back, nor does she believe it's been found.
She's since moved from the property but said she was "traumatised" by the ordeal and "frustrated" by the lack of immediate action.
"I still feel scared because that guy was out there for so long.
"It's just really frustrating to see police doing other things when there are other people who really need help.
"We have to do all the detective work ourselves."
Businesses fronting the costs
An Auckland business owner has been forced to invest in added security measures after a number of his apprentices were hit by thieves.
Owner of Laser Electrical Auckland Central Terry Bluck said although it's always been an issue in the industry, things are getting worse.
"We had to change the way we were storing our product and tools, it's getting worse at the moment so we've had to change the way we work, operate and where we store vehicles," Bluck said.
"Essentially what we end up doing is going out and buying all the stuff again, we'll fund some of it, they'll put some of it on their accounts … but you just have to get back on the horse, go out shopping and buy new tools."
He said the hardest thing was seeing them lose their livelihoods.
"But they've worked their butts off to pay for these tools, they don't have any discretionary income, they're just scraping by each week. Doing an apprenticeship is tough, and when they start losing tools like that it hurts, it just hurts."
Police response
Focus contacted police and was sent the following statement:
In general, we would advise people to contact police and provide any and all information about stolen property, so that it can be assessed for further action by police.
Each case is treated individually, depending on the accuracy of the information available, good evidence, and availability of police officers.
There are specific requirements under the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 for police officers to have the authority to enter a premise in such situations.
We strongly discourage people from attempting to retrieve their own stolen property. Police would like to take this opportunity to ask anyone who comes across items for sale, particularly on social media, that appear to be stolen, to let us know via 105 or online at https://www.police.govt.nz/use-105.
Waitematā East Police, which covers the North Shore, are comfortable with our resourcing levels, however we continue to deploy our resource where there is demand for service.
This means prioritising deploying our staff to incidents involving risk, such as threats of violence against a person or property.
We are always looking at ways to improve our service to all of the communities in our area.
