Whanganui police warn residents to lock garden sheds to prevent burglaries

Police are advising people to engrave or mark their garden tools as burglars continue to target garden sheds.

Whanganui police are repeating their warning to residents to ensure gardens sheds and garages are securely locked.

The recent spate of thefts from unlocked sheds continued at the weekend, with burglars targeting power tools, chainsaws and garden equipment, Senior Sergeant Andrew McDonald said.

"It's not just Whanganui - it's happening in Taumarunui and Marton as well," Mr McDonald said.

"There have also been some shed burglaries in the Durie Hill area, which is unusual as we don't normally see that type of offending in that area.

"People need to secure their garden sheds a little bit more and mark their tools. We recover property all the time but identifying whether it was stolen and who owns it can be problematic. If the property is marked, we have a better chance of reuniting it with its owner."

Earlier this month Levin police recovered $45,000 of stolen property and were able to quickly identify the owners of many of the items because they had engraved or marked their tools.

Police recommend that to reduce the risk of tools being stolen and improve the chance of having stolen property returned, owners should:

• Engrave your tools with your driver licence number.
• Keep a record of the serial numbers.
• If you work on a construction site, be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to police.
• Take your tools home with you or lock them up in a shed on site.
• Construction companies that own tools should engrave company names and phone numbers on tools.
•Second-hand dealers and the public should be wary of tools being offered to them at a price that is too good to be true.

Mr McDonald said residents who noticed any suspicious activity in their area should contact police immediately.