Waikato District Commander Superintendent Bruce Bird will speak to media in relation to the burglaries in the Waikato District overnight. Video / Mike Scott
A besieged Waikato district is taking matters into its own hands and installing street-side security cameras, choosing not to wait for the Government to provide anti-crime measures.
Waipa District Council mayor Susan O’Regan said she was spurred to fast-track the installation of 25 CCTV cameras across the district after speaking to store owners who had recently been the targets of brazen burglaries.
“When you see the strain on the faces of those retailers and hear the anxiety in their voices you feel compelled to act,” said O’Regan.
At 4am the group broke into Noel Leeming on Duke St in Cambridge and half an hour later they hit Super Liquor on Sloane St in Te Awamutu. Both of these stores are within the Waipa District.
“Certainly in the last six months there has been a real escalation in terms of crime within the retail sector and rurally and quite frankly a lot of retailers are at breaking point. It’s pretty sickening,” she said.
The aftermath of a break-in at the Noel Leeming store in Cambridge on Monday. Photo / Mike Scott
The installation of the additional CCTV cameras will come at a cost of close to half a million dollars.
O’Regan said the council had already applied for money for additional CCTV cameras from the Government and was “reasonably confident” of getting it.
“But the message from our retailers and residents is absolutely clear. The recent upsurge in retail crime and anti-social behaviour means some businesspeople simply can’t wait any longer – some are at breaking point,” she said.
“On that basis, we’re not waiting for confirmation of a government funding decision. We’re moving ahead and doing it ourselves.”
Should the application for government funding be denied, the additional cameras will be funded by a ratepayer-serviced loan, with first-year repayments budgeted in the 2023/24 Annual Plan.
The cameras will be installed across Kihikihi central township, Te Awamutu CBD including by McDonald’s, at the skateparks in Cambridge and Pirongia, in Ngahinapouri, Halley’s Lane in Cambridge and along Cambridge Rd.
Four youths, aged 19, 18, 17 and 15, have been arrested and will be charged with burglary in connection with yesterday’s incidents in Cambridge and Te Awamutu.
Police are still working to locate the other six offenders.
Waikato District Commander Superintendent Bruce Bird called the offenders an “organised crime group, pure and simple”.
“These people are now out of control.”
Police are “throwing the kitchen sink” at this, Bird said, adding they are “absolutely determined” to find them before Christmas.
