‘It’s like Mad Max’: Locals despair as crime ‘out of control’, not enough police

Dargaville and its surrounding areas have been likened to the Wild West amid a recent spate of burglaries, ram raids and two homicides.
Some people are considering selling up while others are taking matters into their own hands thanks to what they say is a lack of police presence.
In the last two months, two homicides have occurred at nearby Ripiro Beach while Dargaville businesses and homes have been targeted.
Whangārei-Kaipara Area Commander Inspector Maria Nordstrom said arrests had been made concerning recent crimes including several burglaries.
Kaipara District Mayor Craig Jepson says while he respected residents’ concerns, he believed the spike in crime was temporary.
But community members state the area feels unsafe and has for a long time – and have started a new community patrol to sort the issue.
Northern Wairoa Community Patrol secretary Rose Dixon said there has been a lot of pressure from the community to get up and running but it takes time to vet volunteers and complete training.
Dixon said in the meantime people were taking a less favourable vigilante approach.
It highlighted not only why community patrol visibility was important but also increased police presence.
She said it felt wrong that victims of domestic abuse were forced to wait an hour to be protected by police who may have to travel from Whangārei.
Residents felt as though the area was forgotten about especially considering the Whangārei community patrol is funded by the local council but there were no plans to do the same here, Dixon said.
“There’s a real sense of despair in the community and that feeling of giving up or [on the other hand] you’ve got people saying we will take things into our own hands.”
“I think the general feeling is that this is the Wild West out here and it’s gotten absolutely out of control.”
One migrant is considering moving away after less than a year in the area after he returned from overseas to find his Land Cruiser, ride-on lawn mower, hiking boots and even vacuum cleaner stolen.
The district feels like a “dangerous s*** hole”, he said.
“You hear about three burglaries in one night, a ram raid at the bottle-o, and then people getting murdered on the beach – like what the hell is that? It’s like Mad Max.”
His view on Aotearoa New Zealand has been dampened by a “terrible” and “disappointing” experience that has left him with little faith in crime prevention and justice.
The man also felt there seemed to be a “hatred” in the country for tourists and a large gang presence that has left himself and his friends feeling on edge.
“NZ had a reputation as a place in paradise and it’s fading fast.”
“This stuff is going on all over the world, but it’s out in the open here.”
Nordstrom said she acknowledged the community has a strong sense of pride and ownership in their area.
She said police had a finite amount of resources to work with but would deploy to priority incidents when they occurred.
On the development of a community watch, she welcomed those who would work alongside police as eyes and ears for the area.
“We work alongside a range of community groups and volunteers every day around crime and wider issues at play.”
“It takes all of us working together to help keep our community safe.”
Nordstrom said staff have been working “incredibly hard” in recent months across the Kaipara area which included a number of investigations into burglaries and serious crime.
Three arrests had been made in under a week following burglaries which included a 16-year-old for a burglary at a liquor shop, a man and woman aged 45 and 41 in relation to the burglary of a takeaway shop, and an 18-year-old also charged with receiving stolen property that was taken during a burglary of a vape store.
An arrest was also made last week in relation to the death of Jasmaine Corin Reihana who was found dead inside a burnt-out car on September 9.
Nordstom and frontline Sergeant Kiley Dalbeth accompanied the Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson on a walk through the township late last week to reassure local businesses.
It was also an opportunity to provide prevention and wider safety advice to community members as well, she said.
“We will not tolerate this offending; especially given the disruption and stress it puts on those whose livelihoods have been targeted.
“The number of incidents occurring across the community in recent months is likely to be an exception, rather than the norm.”
Jepson said Dargaville and surrounding areas were not the only ones struggling with a crime wave, pointing to a series of burglaries early September in Mangawhai.
“It seems to be a little bit of outsiders coming in to commit the crime, I have confidence police will be dealing with the offenders.”
He felt that Dargaville residents were among the most “law-abiding” in the region.
When questioned about the community feeling as though a lack of police presence was becoming an issue, he said CCTV would deter crime.
Other methods such as placing bollards at shop fronts could be undertaken too.
“I don’t think Dargaville is an area suffering from a high crime rate.
Generally speaking, I hope that it’s a temporary increase and I certainly respect and understand [people’s] concerns and I hope that police will be responding to that.”
He said the council would not be funding the community patrol but was happy to advise on how the patrol could look and work.
When asked what the council could do about the issue Jepson stated law and order was not the council’s responsibility.
“Although it is something that we would certainly like to have an input in… I just think that it’s a national issue.”
Brodie Stone is an education and general news reporter at the Advocate. Brodie has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.