Rotorua police announce new team of six to start on CBD beat
Photo:
RNZ / Libby Kirkby-McLeod
A Rotorua store owner says she has been threatened, broken into, and had food demanded of her but having police on the streets is
making a big difference
.
Two community constables have been working with the Rotorua Council's City Safe Guardians to address retail crime and inner-city safety over recent years.
Now police have announced a new team of six starting on the beat across the central business district.
Rotorua area commander Inspector Herby Ngawhika said Police Commissioner Richard Chambers had been very clear that he wanted police to 'get back to basics.'
"Having this team in our CBD provides a real face-to-face interaction with our retailers, with our community, and with our visitors," he said.
The streets were reasonably quiet and shops not too busy on a wet cold day in Rotorua when RNZ joined police officers, Mayor Tania Tapsell and Police Minister Mark Mitchell to see exactly what this policing looked like.
At Goldiluck Bakery, owner Renneth Thongly said she had faced a range of issues such as being threatened, broken into, and had food demanded of her.
But she said Rotorua Senior Community Constable Tony O'Keeffe had given her good tips on how to remember and identify offenders, and she was able to contact him personally if she had concerns.
"Don't take him away!" she told Police Minister Mark Mitchell.
Goldiluck Bakery owner Renneth Thongly speaks with Police Minister Mark Mitchell about the effects of having police on the streets.
Photo:
RNZ / Libby Kirkby-McLeod
The Toyworld on Tutanekai Street in Rotorua was robbed four times in just over a week recently. Three out of four of the offenders have been caught, and the store manager Mark Sherman agreed it was good to have the number of a local police officer he knew would be able to respond.
"We can always call him and say 'hey, if you are in the area we've got someone here who has just left', and usually they can do something," he said.
Toyworld owner Chris Fleming also owned a second store in the local mall and found using the online
security platform Auror
helpful.
"The same people come to both stores and if we can share that information, it makes it more likely that we are going to be able to deal with it," he said.
O'Keeffe said when he started a shift, he could look at who was offending around the streets.
"Some of these offenders are targeting retailers' multiple times, they will go to several different shops in a day and they get emboldened," he said.
O'Keeffe said in the case of the four thefts at Toyworld he was able to find the offenders throughout the week, and they are now before the courts.
He said it could be quite disheartening to hear the stories from retailers.
"The violence and threats towards their staff - that's probably the worse thing about it," he said.
Sergeant Colin Peers, Police Minister Mark Mitchell and Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell joining local constables on the beat.
Photo:
RNZ / Libby Kirkby-McLeod
Bay of Plenty District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson said it was great to be starting the six-officer beat team in Rotorua.
He said a lot of work had already been done in recent years to improve safety in Rotorua.
"With the Rotorua Lakes Council and Māori wardens we created a CBD safety plan that has already shown results for the people and businesses in our city.
"Now we'll have a beat team to support this ongoing work to keep our residents, retailers, and businesses safe," he said.
O'Keeffe said a lot of the theft was fuelled by offenders battling addiction.
"[The goods are] a currency for methamphetamine and drugs more than anything else," he said.
Anderson acknowledged that the
city faced some complex issues
which required a joint approach of agencies, iwi, and community groups working together to solve them.
"For our part, we want to ensure everyone who comes into our city feels safe - whether they live here, work here, or are visiting," he said.
Minister Mark Mitchell said beat officers had an important role in ensuring retailers and members of the public felt and are safe.
"We know it makes a huge difference to our communities to see Police out on the streets. Not only does it make people feel safer, we know it discourages crime," he said.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
6 hours ago
- RNZ News
McQuillan Tipu jailed after violently stealing woman's pokie winnings
By Ric Stevens, Open Justice reporter of McQuillan Tipu saw the woman counting her money in the gaming room and decided to steal it. Photo: rnz A woman was robbed of her $2000 pokie winnings, then dragged across a carpark by the robber's car before being left unconscious with a broken arm. Shortly before, on the evening of 15 March, 2024, McQuillan Tipu had gone into the gaming room at the Wairau Sports Bar in Glenfield, on Auckland's North Shore, where he saw the woman counting the money and putting it into her purse. He followed her as she went outside and snatched her purse from her as she answered a phone call, Hastings District Court recently heard. Tipu sprinted to a waiting car, where an associate who has not been identified was waiting in the driver's seat. The woman chased him and reached the car as Tipu got into the passenger seat. She pleaded for the return of her purse and tried to grab it but Tipu began slapping her arm repeatedly, trying to make her let go. The driver accelerated away and somehow the woman got caught up in the moving vehicle. She was dragged 15m, tumbling as the car sped away. She fell on to the concrete and was knocked unconscious. A member of the public found the woman about 10 minutes later. The woman spent the next 10 days in hospital with a broken arm and concussion and required two operations. Now, following the violent theft, Tipu, 30, has appeared in the Hastings District Court for sentencing on charges of theft, injuring with reckless disregard, breach of community work and assaulting and resisting a constable. Judge Gordon Matenga sent him to prison for two years and one month. The judge said Tipu's victim still feared going out at night. She used to enjoy going to the club but was now afraid to do so and could not relax. Her injuries had made her very dependent on others, which put pressure on her whole family. "The injuries made life extremely difficult," Judge Matenga said. He acknowledged that Tipu was sorry for hurting the woman, and that events were not meant to turn out the way they did. There had been little premeditation. "You went into the bar, you saw the complainant's money and you made the decision then and there to take it," he said. Tipu skipped bail in Auckland and was on the run before being arrested on three outstanding warrants in Napier on November 6, 2024. He tried to punch the arresting police officer twice in the head and repeatedly pushed the constable away before attempting to run off on foot. This led to the charges of assaulting and resisting a constable. Judge Matenga said Tipu had a "significant" conviction history, including three aggravated robberies and an assault with intent to injure. In 2021, he was sentenced to 120 hours of community work, of which he had completed only nine. * This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .
RNZ News
7 hours ago
- RNZ News
Jock Davies named as man who died while hunting on Stewart Island
Jock Davies. Photo: Facebook Police have formally named Jock Davies as the man who died while hunting on Stewart Island. The 21-year-old from Tapanui died near Lords River on 5 July. A search and rescue team was sent to the island but Davies was found dead. Police were investigating, including include speaking to people who were in the area at the time. Family and friends had posted tributes on social media, including his brother Tom Davies who said he was "dearly loved and always will be". A Child Cancer Foundation article published five years ago described how west Otago rallied around the family in 2013 and again in 2018 as Jock Davies had treatment for leukaemia and a bone marrow transplant. Back then Davies had celebrated his two-year post-transplant anniversary and was enjoying a "sporty, outdoorsy life just as every 16-year-old boy should be". Mountain Safety Council chief executive Mike Daisley said Davies' death would be felt far and wide among the country's hunters. Deerstalkers Association chief executive Gwyn Thurlow said fatal hunting accidents in New Zealand were rare. "Our hearts go out to the family and the people involved in this tragedy. It's just so sad that it's it's happened to such a young person," he said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
8 hours ago
- RNZ News
Rameka Rewiti sentenced to home detention for drunk crash that killed brother in Whangārei
By Shannon Pitman, Open Justice multimedia journalist of Aperahama Rewiti died when the car he was a passenger in hit a tree in Whangārei last year. Photo: Open Justice Rameka Rewiti, 21, performed a burnout in front of police before speeding off and crashing into a tree in May last year. His brother Aperahama Rewiti was in the passenger seat of the vehicle and died instantly. Yesterday, Rameka was in the Whangārei District Court yesterday to be sentenced on one charge of dangerous driving causing Aperahama's death. Defence lawyer Hugh Leabourn said Rameka was deeply remorseful and would trade positions with his brother in a heartbeat. "This is an absolute tragedy," Leabourn said. He submitted that Rameka had become withdrawn following the 23 May crash last year and carried the weight of guilt daily. "It's the effect on his brother, whom he was extremely close to, the effect on his fellow siblings and more importantly, on his mother, who's in this awful dilemma of losing one child and is in the courtroom today with the expectation she may lose another," Leabourn said. "I don't think he's even come close to the grieving process yet." The court heard that the brothers had been out drinking on the evening of the crash when, about 12.30am, Rameka made the call to drive home. He was parked near Whangārei's Grand Hotel, where police were also present due to a reported incident. Rameka, who was 20 at the time, got behind the wheel and performed a burnout in front of the officers. He then sped off, with his brother in the passenger seat, and drove through the inner city, reaching speeds of up to 120km/h in wet road conditions. Rameka continued to travel at speed for 1.5km along Bank St before losing control as he went through an intersection. He crashed into a tree, killing his brother. Subsequent blood tests revealed Ramkea had a level of 140mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in his system. In New Zealand, the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers aged 20 and over is 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The court heard he had also taken the drug MDMA earlier that day. At sentencing, Crown lawyer Eilish O'Connor submitted that although the distance Rameka travelled was short, his dangerous driving was prolonged, which Judge Gus Andree Wiltens disagreed with. "It's not very far, at 100 kilometres per hour," the judge said. "If he's doing 100, it would take him 1 minute to get a kilometre along the road." O'Connor said there was also an element of premeditation involved, given he knew he was intoxicated and chose to drive poorly in full view of police. "The Crown's point is, he shouldn't have been in the vehicle in the first place," O'Connor submitted. In Rameka's defence, Leabourn said his client's life had gone off the rails when he was 13, after the sudden death of his father. At the time of the crash, his drinking was "not healthy", Leabourn said. "At the delicate age of 13, a hard time to lose your father, outside influences began to have a greater impact on him and that's reflected in the very tragic circumstances we have before the court. "This is a classic example of an absolutely appalling decision being made by a very young person. That impact is going to have a very dramatic impact on him for the rest of his life." Leabourn said Rameka struggled with memory loss from the crash, yet there was no medical evidence to support this. Judge Andree Wiltens said the aggravating factors of the case included the use of drugs and alcohol, and elements of showing off. "You did a burnout for some 10-12 seconds, then you sped off at 100 to 120km/h," the judge said. "At the time, you were conscious of the fact your younger brother was half hanging out the window." He described Rameka's actions as "showing off, and frankly, just being stupid". Judge Andree Wiltens said Rameka's decision was appalling and had equally appalling consequences, resulting in a tragedy for him and his whānau. "The consequences are with you for the rest of your life, you have to live with that." Judge Andree Wiltens commended the support of Rameka's whānau and sentenced him to 12 months' home detention. * This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .
