Taupō Police: Underage driver and passengers lead police on chase

Road spikes were used to stop four youths fleeing Taupō Police last week. Photo / File

Tēnā koutou katoa. Our staff have been kept busy over the last week. Unfortunately we have seen a spike in burglaries and stolen vehicles in the last two weeks. The good news is that we have identified a number of these offenders and they are now before the court or have been referred to our Youth Aid Section.

Our Youth Aid Section work alongside whānau and our partner agencies to ensure that we keep these youngsters on the right track and not falling into the criminal justice system. Prevention is better than a cure, as we all know.

Some of these young ones have been responsible for a large amount of the crime across both Taupō and Tūrangi. The weekend saw four of them lead police on a pursuit where they were finally stopped after road spikes were deployed. The driver was found to not be old enough to hold a driver's licence. His actions, and those of his cohorts are putting themselves at risk, as well as our community and my staff. These kids should have been at home and under the supervision of whānau.

Parents and caregivers need to know where their children are. If they are staying overnight at friends, then make the call to ensure that is correct. All too often police have to visit families and have conversations with whānau after their children have been located up to no good, with the parents believing they were somewhere else. And in the worst cases, we have to advise families that these young ones have been injured or killed.

Senior Sergeant Fane Troy, Taupō Police. Photo / File

Please talk to your children and have honest conversations with them. If you require any help, Police Youth Aid or our school community officers can provide advice and guidance.

Taupō detectives were busy last week executing a number of search warrants. One warrant resulted in three wanted people found at one address.

A trend that we have seen lately are the number of accidental drive-offs from petrol stations. These reports take up police time and resources. Please remember to pay for your petrol. If using an app, make sure you have the right details such as pump number and authorisation. Make sure you know who is paying for the petrol if you go inside to pay. These simple steps will stop our service stations having to ring police and us making enquiries with vehicle owners, which can be embarrassing.

Only two weeks until spring, so from the search and rescue and road safety side, please take the time to have your vehicles or pleasure craft serviced before you head out in them. With your cars remember the TWIRL: tyres, windscreens, indicators, rust and lights. With your boats and personal watercraft (jetskis), check the batteries and your emergency items as well as ensuring lifejackets are fit for purpose.

Stay safe, Fane Troy.