Crime and Incident Report

Burglaries

Unfortunately, the Minimart on McDonnell Street in Ōmokoroa has been the subject of two burglaries in recent weeks. During the first incident, a café worker disturbed the offenders who were believed to be in their teens and they ran off. The second burglary involved a stolen car from Tauranga. CCTV cameras are assisting with our inquiries.

Shops in the wider Bay of Plenty have been targeted by offenders using stolen vehicles to ram and force entry to the buildings. The stolen vehicle of choice is the Mazda Demio, please ensure that if you are the owner of a Demio that it is locked and secured.

Rural burglaries are still occurring particularly around the Whakamārama and Lund Road areas.

On the morning of 13th February, an outboard motor was stolen from a property on Pats Lane, Whakamārama. The offenders were disturbed and left the motor nearby. We are following strong leads in relation to this matter.

Look out for your neighbours, and if you see something, say something.

Theft

Rural letterboxes have been targeted around the Minden area, please report any suspicious vehicles. Remember: lock it or lose it.

Arrests and Apprehensions

On the evening of the 10th February, a magazine stand was thrown through a Real Estate office window in Katikati. A 16-year-old local youth has been spoken to and referred to the Youth Aid Section.

Fraud

An elderly Katikati woman was scammed out of over $3,000 from her bank account by a cold caller claiming to be from Amazon. They were calling from an overseas number. The line of the scam was that the victim somehow owed Amazon some money and through careful manipulation, the scammer has convinced the woman to give enough details for him to be able to empty her account.

There is little prospect of recovering the money. These confidence scammers are operating all of the time, cold calling people with various excuses. Surprisingly a lot of people are falling for the scams and losing thousands of dollars from their accounts over the phone. Never disclose any details of your personal bank accounts, internet accounts, passwords or PIN codes to anyone over the phone. Legitimate businesses will not ask for these details. It’s best to hang up.

General

Due to the wild winds recently we were very busy chasing up on reports of damage and trees down over various roads. Power was down in many places for over 48 hours. On the bright side, I guess there will be plenty of firewood available this winter.

The new CCTV camera at the Ōmokoroa skatepark is up and running, so hopefully this will stop any anti-social behaviour.

Please ensure every crime in the area is reported. We often receive inquiries about offending, but some is not being reported.

The 105 number is for historic or minor matters and is an easy way to report crime or suspicious behaviour. Crime and incidents can also be reported online at www.police.govt.nz/adviceservices/all-online-options (or Google NZ Police Crime Reporting and it will take you where you need to go).

Anything reported on the phone or online is viewed by the Katikati Police staff and appropriate action is taken where it can be.

Call 111 for serious offending, or incidents that require more immediate police attention.