Police step in over damage to motels
Youths interviewed after claims of harassment
Tu¯ rangi police say a group of youths who have allegedly been harassing and causing damage at local motels will be held accountable for their actions.
Officer in charge Sergeant Te Reipa Morunga confirmed police have spoken to some of the youths and said there would be consequences for them through the youth aid process. Police are also working with the youths’ families.
A motel manager in Tu¯rangi, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Rotorua Daily Post the people involved were young, “about 12 years old” and their behaviour had escalated in recent weeks.
“At the start of the year it was all semi-harmless,” she said.
“They would always trespass, try to get into the guests’ swimming pool, trying to pretend they were customers and us having to chase them off the property.
“But, in April they found an ashtray outside one of the units and left a poo in it, then left that in the games room. I don’t know if it was animal or human.”
Another motelier, who has also had issues with the group, said the youths started hanging around in January asking for money. He offered to pay them if they would do some work.
“I invented a couple of jobs for them but they were absolutely unemployable, they were more interested in looking in cupboards, looking for what they could pilfer or sell, and we’ve been hassled by them ever since.”
A guest from Otorohanga who had stayed at one of the motels told the Taupo¯ & Tu¯rangi Weekender that on Friday, April 30, after warning off the youths from riding their bikes through the property, they returned with sticks, apparently looking for a fight. Five anglers in waders chased them off the property and there was a ‘set to’ nearby before the youths were chased across State Highway 1 to Tongariro School.
Another guest complained that stones were thrown at him when he told them to leave the motel, where they were jumping on the trampoline.
The motelier says that day, he made three 111 calls but local police were already involved in other complaints. However, since then the motel and surrounding streets had been regularly patrolled and no other incidents had occurred. Police from Tu¯rangi and Taupo¯ had also been to visit.
Sergeant Morunga said Tu¯ rangi Police had interviewed two of the youths, who had admitted the wrongdoing. They would now go through the youth aid process, including family group conferences and be held accountable.
He said although the group “had done some really stupid things,” they were only young and were still at the age when police and Oranga Tamariki, iwi and hapu¯ could try to work with them to make a difference. “We’ve got to get them on board to help these young fellas.”
Police would also be working with the youths’ families, he said. The families found it hard managing the boys’ behaviour and there were “other things” going on in the families as well.
The youths did not have gang connections and were not bad at heart, but did need some guidance and support, he said.
“I’ve dealt with them many times, I’ve had them on my Blue Light trips. They are energetic boys, they definitely have a lot of energy. They are actually very likeable little fellas but they just need things to do and that’s why as iwi and hapu¯ and as a community
we need to try to find things for them to do. They can very easily be wound back on the right track.”
People shouting at the youths, chasing them and swearing at them only escalated the situation, Morunga said. It was better to ring the police, who would attend as soon as they were able. Facebook was not the place to report crime and people should be calling 111 or 105.
He said police attended every incident that was reported. “It might not be straight away due to other demands but we will attend every job.”
Police would also hold a meeting with local moteliers to discuss their concerns face-to-face and discuss how both groups could work together to help each other.
Tu¯rangi police station is supposed to have a complement of nine staff when at full capacity. It has eight staff at present and at the end of the month will be down to seven staff, due to vacancies, Morunga said.
Tu¯rangi Community Constable John Malpas said he was more than willing to work with the community on solutions and discouraged business owners from taking matters into their own hands. He said he was available to anyone who wanted to discuss the issue and come up with solutions.
Police resources in Tu¯rangi were limited and those on duty could not be everywhere at all times. When possible, other units in or near the area would respond but otherwise, police had to give other jobs, such as serious car crashes or assaults, priority.
Malpas still encouraged members of the community to call the police so the incident could be logged. “If you aren’t reporting every incident, statistically speaking there are no jobs happening in Tu¯ rangi and that’s what our managers use to allocate resources. It helps paint a picture.”