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A spate of unexplained robberies in the Warkworth township are going against the trend of a reduced crime rate in the area.
On September 29, four commercial premises in town including Franklins Pharmacy and Warkworth Dental were all broken into between around 10pm and 1am.
Warkworth Police sergeant Mark Stallworthy says while the offenders took nothing, it’s disheartening to have events like this recurring in the area.
“It’s really frustrating for us when the crime rate is dropping, but these low-level offences are still bubbling away below the surface,” Mr Stallworthy says.
“It appears that these were perhaps young people looking for something to do, because they left empty-handed, but the rise in this sort of activity is unexplained at this stage.”
Earlier last month, Stihl Shop and Noel Leeming had a large amount of stock stolen, which police recovered. Prior to that, BNZ Warkworth was robbed for cash.
“We’re working hard to get good CCTV coverage of the town and surrounding areas, and we have some leads for the latest incident.
“If anyone has any further information that might be of use, they should drop into the station or call us.”
Meanwhile, Sergeant Stallworthy is pleased to see a general trend showing crime on the decrease.
The area has faced 63 recorded incidents from January to August, down from 71 for the same period last year.
Crime rates are now down to 2015 levels, after an increase over the last two years.
Since 2015, more than 90 per cent of crimes were in relation to burglaries and thefts.
