Taupō Police news: Two drug arrests, winter road conditions require caution

Winter is here which means taking time to defrost your windscreen properly and taking care on the roads. Photo / File

Tēnā koutou katoa. Over the past seven days we have had 89 calls for service.

In terms of offending we continue to see low levels of burglaries and vehicle crime, with only eight burglaries in that period, four of which were in dwellings. Two of these burglaries have already resulted in the offenders being identified, forensic results are still pending on others and may result in further identifications.

The remainder relate to the theft of items from residential properties, such as bikes and the like. We are not seeing any particular geographical areas currently being targeted. Family harm continues to feature, with staff attending 22 incidents in the past week. As mentioned in my last article there is a wide range of support available in the community and we encourage you to seek these out early if required.

Last week we ran a small operation targeting local active drug dealers. This involved executing four search warrants over two days and involved frontline staff, the tactical crime unit and the drug detection dog.

These warrants are partly made possible through information provided to us by members of the community who notice suspicious behaviour and pass the information on. The 0800 Crimestoppers line (0800 555 111) has been available for some time now and allows this information to be provided anonymously. The new 105 line is an alternative method of contact.

As a result of these search warrants, two people were arrested and charged with drug supply offences. We also recovered cannabis, methamphetamine and a quantity of cash. Operations like this will continue in order to minimise the harm these people cause to the community.

Sergeant Vanessa Meharry, Taupō Police. Photo / File

Last week brought the first weekend of bars being able to operate normally again. It is pleasing to report we had no major incidents and people appeared to enjoy being able to socialise without restriction again. We encourage people to pre-arrange their transport home as we have seen an increase in the number of vehicle stops resulting in breath alcohol procedures being initiated.

On the subject of driving, we're starting to see colder weather coming through, which often results in iced windows and decreased visibility. Take the time to defrost your windscreen before leaving home and take care on the roads around this time of the year.

As always if you need Police, call us on 111. Alternatively, for non-urgent or historic matters our 105 line is available 24/7. Keep safe.

Ngā mihi, Vanessa Meharry.