Twice, thieves had broken in to get alcohol and tried to get money out of an empty till.
The duty manager said officers were out and about at weekends, but there weren't enough during the week. The break-ins occurred during the week, she said. The culprits, thought to have targeted several places in Masterton, could have known fewer officers would be around.
The duty manager thought the number of frontline officers had declined in recent times, though plenty seemed out and about when events were held in Wairarapa.
"I would like to see more officers on the street at night time during the week."
The manager of Langlands Motorcycles in Masterton, who also declined to be named, saw it as a business's responsibility to have proper security measures in place to help prevent crime.
The shop had experienced several break-ins, she said.
"We're a motorbike shop. They're always trying to get in here in some way, shape or form."
The thieves were always in and out rapidly because they knew what they were doing and they did not leave a lot for police to go on.
"For us, it's about increasing our security," she said.
"You want to stop people taking your stuff, you need to have some proactive approach to it, don't you? You can't expect the police to be able to do everything."
Last month two teenagers were spotted on the building's roof, having allegedly tried to remove a child's motorcycle from the yard.
The manager said police responded quickly with a dog unit and found one of the young people involved.
Labour's police spokesman Kelvin Davis said the number of constables on the beat had fallen over the past six years in all but one of the country's 12 police districts.
"The number of general-duties constables now stands at 2593 this year, a drop of almost 18 per cent since 2009," he said.
That was "a terrible indictment of a Government that talked the talk on police numbers but had allowed the number of constables handling crime and complaints to fall year after year".
"In Northland, alone, the number of general duties constables has tumbled from 140 in 2009 to just 113."
Across the country, high-volume crimes such as burglaries had a very low resolution rate, he said.
"Despite this, funding for the police in the Budget was reduced by a whopping $15.3 million.
"Police say they want a higher presence in New Zealand communities, yet there is no money or staff to increase foot patrols."
Mr Woodhouse said Mr Davis was "either being tricky or is utterly confused".
"Either way, his comments are untrue."
Mr Woodhouse said frontline and overall police numbers had increased under the National-led Government.
"Our communities are safer as a result," he said. "There are now more police on the beat, and more foot patrols, than ever before."
Mr Woodhouse said Budget 2015 included more than $1.5 billion to continue to support and invest in police.
The New Zealand Police would not comment on the numbers, saying it was "a political matter".
