Police – Removing opportunity

One of the questions I’m most often asked is, “Much going on in the area, Mark?” Of course the answer to that is far from simple.

We are blessed with a comparatively low general crime rate, but despite our best efforts, we are not crime-free. We all knew that population growth here was inevitable. Once that fabulous new motorway ended at Warkworth, the secret of New Zealand’s best place to live was bound to get out.

So, to get back to the original question, “What’s going on in the area, Mark?” the answer is that at the moment I’m seeing a trend in increasing criminal activity in our new growth subdivisions. This will be due to multiple factors.

First and foremost, criminals love opportunity, and new large-scale subdivisions abound with opportunity for those inclined towards dishonesty. New house builds mean expensive copper wiring fitouts are taking place and building materials will be stored on site. New appliances are being installed in expensive cabinetry. If an enterprising burglar times it just right, the appliances will be still in the boxes stacked in the garage.

While a new home is still under construction, there’s a good chance that pricy builders tools will be left on site and a few panels of temporary site fencing are little deterrent to a burglar. Perhaps most importantly, most of our new subdivisions have plenty of houses being built but they still have very few house occupants to keep an eye on these new neighbourhoods.

I wish I could say I’m talking about a single crime, but I’m seeing a trend, with multiple instances of building site burglary in the last few weeks. Building a new home is an exciting time for owners and I’d hate for it to be a disappointing experience due to some opportunist rat-bag breaking into their place before they’ve even started living there.

You can minimise giving that criminal the opening to steal with a few commonsense measures. Get your materials delivered to site as you need them. Consider CCTV for your home and signpost that you’re using it. Take tools off the site each day. When the house reaches lock-up stage, actually lock it and then don’t store the key outside in some obvious place. Crime prevention is often just about removing opportunity.

Keep safe.