24 Jan 2023

Hawke's Bay police cracking down on vehicle thefts

5:05 pm on 24 January 2023
Auckland, New Zealand - December 24, 2020: Close up of a New Zealand police officer's uniform and badge

Photo: 123RF

Hawke's Bay police say they are cracking down on vehicle thefts, after a spate of vehicle thefts across Napier in the past few weeks.

Hawke's Bay Area Commander Lincoln Sycamore said a dedicated a team of people was working to identify the perpetrators, with a view to prosecuting them.

"We're also trying to understand what drives this offending and how best to intervene and prevent future occurrences of this nature," he said.

Some of the vehicles stolen have been used to commit further offences, such as burglaries.

Within the past week police have arrested several youths and identified a number of young people who they will be following up with.

Police were asking the public to keep sharing information and reporting any criminal activity they saw.

Napier City Council was also supporting police efforts by increasing CCTV camera coverage and camera monitoring as well as exploring other measures to deter offenders from targeting Napier's CBD retailers, Sycamore said.