Crime apathy challenged

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 9, Issue 438, 27 May 1992, Page 1

Crime apathy challenged

Waimarino police constable Brian Wilson speaks out about community appathy to crime: "Since the latter part of 1991, the Police in the Waimarino have at-

tended an unprecedented amount of burglary, theft and dishonesty offences. The total value of stolen property and damage caused is unknown, but it is well in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. "Several persons have been charged with offences relating to the spate of crime and punished by the courts accordingly. This however

does not solve the problem. "The first point I wish to make is that the few persons who have been or are being dealt with by ihe court system now are only one small part of a large group of people who are involved. The persons who are harder to locate and deal with are the group of "normal persons" who are willing to abet the

burglars by buying the stolen property. From my experience, these

people think that getting something "on the Turnpage 3

(Crime apathy

From page 1 "From what I have seen and heard from visitors and chalet owners, many are being turned off by the crime. I have spoken personally to three disgruntled chalet owners who are now selling their properties because of the continuing hassles and problems in owning a holiday home in Ohakune. "I hope these people are the exception rather than the rule, but it does highlight what will happen if crime continues. A tourist town's economy is fragile, and if crime continues as it has been of recent it's not just the property owner that will suffer. "Ohakune will be known as a "bad town" and people will be turned off from coming here. Businesses will suffer and as a consequence the whole community suffers. The most obvious result is that job opportunities will not occur and the town will degenerate rather than progress. "Crime is not just a Police problem, it is a community problem. Police cannot solve crime unless they receive the information and support of the public. I urge the public not to be apathetic and accept crime as part of living in the Waimarino. If you can help, "Speak up". I promise that any information will be treated as confidential." cheap" is okay and that they are not really doing anything wrong. "I say to these persons, that you are the cause of the problem, by creating a market place for the burglars to operate in. There must be many of you in the Waimarino area and perhaps if you changed your attitude, then perhaps we can start making progress against the crime rate. "The second point I wish to make is about attitude. Ohakune is now a tourist town and many, of the businesses in town, rely on that trade.