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Police are heartened by the fact that there have been zero reported burglaries in the Warkworth area during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Warkworth Police Sergeant Mark Stallworthy says this is most likely a first for a given three week period.
“We might have had at least a farm shed or a building site burgled, but crime stats in general have dropped dramatically,” Sgt Stallworthy says.
He puts this down to the extra police staff rostered in north Rodney, with up to six patrol cars on the road at any given time.
“We have police on the road day and night. If someone is driving at night, particularly after supermarket opening hours, they will get stopped.”
Over the Easter long weekend, police held two checkpoints in Warkworth on Thursday and Friday for six hours each to safeguard against potential holidaymakers flouting quarantine rules.
Sgt Stallworthy says although there was a significant number of essential workers on the road, there were virtually no incursions from out-of-towners with only a small number stretching the rules.
“It was really encouraging to see that, in general, people were respecting the rules of quarantine.”
There were also extra patrols at Omaha Beach, prompted by reports from residents that there was an increased number of people at the beach during the long weekend, but no one was found breaching quarantine.
“Kiwis have banded together really well and people in the community have been educating each other.”
Sgt Stallworthy says police have had a presence in public places such as supermarkets and have been ensuring that those who are isolating in mobile homes remain in one location instead of beach hopping.
The Warkworth checkpoint was part of a national drive that included 500 checkpoints across the country from Thursday to Sunday.
During the long weekend, action was taken against 622 people nationally for breaching either the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act or the Health Act.
The majority of people were issued with a warning, but 64 are facing prosecution and there were 15 youth referrals.
Since the start of the quarantine, there have been 1205 breaches, 138 prosecutions and 1038 warnings, nationally.
“In general, Kiwis across the country got the message and they followed it. However, for the minority that ignored the message, police were there to educate and encourage, and where necessary enforce,” police assistant commissioner Richard Chambers said.
Meanwhile, police in the Waitemata police district, which includes Rodney, are warning about an online email scam that has emerged during the lockdown.
“The scammers send an email to victims telling them their computer has been hacked and a video has been taken through their webcam showing that they’ve looked at pornographic websites,” police say.
The scammers threaten to send the video to the victim’s family and friends unless they are paid $1900.
The scammers also claim to know the victim’s passwords, and in some cases list actual passwords that have been used by the victim in the past, which they have obtained through previously leaked online data breaches.
Police are warning anyone who receives an email of this nature to immediately delete the message.
Detective Senior Sergeant Callum McNeill says Waitemata Police are currently investigating a number of recent reports of the scam in the district.
“Unfortunately, some of the victims have been so concerned that a video of themselves would be leaked that they have paid money to the scammers,” he says.
Anyone who believes they are a victim of this scam and who has transferred money should contact Police by phoning 105.
