Vehicle crime on the up again in Taupō, police say

Vehicle break-ins are making an unwelcome reappearance in Taupō. Photo / File

Tēnā koutou katoa, I am currently sitting in for Senior Sergeant Phil Edwards while he takes some well-deserved and well-timed leave, particularly given the news that we have now moved to level 1.

This is good news for the country and reflects the effort made by so many in what was an unprecedented situation.

For us this heralds a move back to business as normal. Over the past two months we have rostered extra staff to assist in our response, particularly around community reassurance and patrolling. Many of these staff have been newly graduated constables, who can now take up their positions on Public Safety Teams. For them it has been an interesting start to their policing careers.

There have been 83 calls for service over the past seven days. This is lower than the same period last year, which is consistent with our experience throughout the Covid-19 response, although we are starting to see some increases in specific areas. Pleasingly the number of burglaries remains low, with only six being reported in the past week.

Over the weekend we saw some offending in relation to vehicle crime. This has been particularly quiet over the past two months but has begun to make a reappearance.

Following the attendance of forensics staff Monday morning a fingerprint was identified for one of the offences. The suspect for that offence was immediately interviewed, with charges likely to follow. At the same time we will be able to put measures in place to prevent any further offending from this person.

Sergeant Vanessa Meharry, Taupō Police. Photo / Laurilee McMichaael

One area where we have seen high demand is in respect to family harm, with 23 incidents attended in the past week. Some of this will be a reflection of the pressure that people are currently under with uncertainty around employment being a significant factor. There are a number of agencies that provide support in, and around, Taupō, ranging from online and telephone support through to personalised individual and family support programmes.

We encourage people to seek assistance early and are more than happy to help co-ordinate this if required.

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

Ngā mihi, Vanessa.