'Mothers living with children next to 501s' in Rotorua's motel strip once humming with tourists
Thursday, 11 March 2021
Making “arrest the exception” and using environmental design to make sure trees are not planted in front of CCTV cameras are among the options being suggested to tackle a “perception” of rising crime in Rotorua.
The issue was debated at a meeting of Rotorua Lakes Council on Thursday as councillors voted to put their Draft Rotorua Community Safety Plan out for public consultation.
The report, written by council strategy development manager Rosemary Viskovic, said “there is an increasing perception amongst residents and visitors alike that Rotorua’s public spaces are not safe”.
At the meeting councillors were also shown a slide of crime data compiled by Dot Loves Data on reported crime figures from August 2015 to July 2020 that revealed of 66 New Zealand locations, Rotorua ranked worst for theft, breaking and entering.
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Rotorua was ranked second-worst for shoplifting, fourth worst for assault and fifth worst for vehicle theft.
“We do have to look at the statistics in Rotorua of the high crime victimisation rate,” said council operations group manager Jocelyn Mikaere.
“We want to be the safest place to live and raise a family, we don’t think that’s impossible.”
She said council has increased City Guardian patrols, introduced temporary alcohol bans in certain hotspots and extended CCTV coverage.
The plan also proposes further extending CCTV coverage to Fenton St – the location for many of the motels used to house the homeless – and plans for “activities with families living in motels to enhance inclusion, participation and pro-social behaviour”.
Mikaere also said council wanted to see “good crime prevention through design”.
“When we’re planting trees, they’re not in front of CCTV cameras”.
Inspector Phil Taikato, area commander of Rotorua police, also told councillors work was under way on gang initiatives and family harm, which he described as “the foundation of almost all offending we’re dealing with”.
He also told councillors “arrest is the exception, supported resolutions is the norm … we’re leading the country in this”.
In an earlier interview with Stuff, Taikato said crime had “relocated” to the Fenton St area but that overall crime in Rotorua was down around 10 per cent in the past year.
He also said that while he was “not going to say it’s racism”, some people in the area did not like to see “all these young brown bodies walking up and down Fenton St”.
It was also revealed at the meeting that the homeless motels are currently home to 350 children.
Councillor Merepeka Raukawa-Tait said it was important to remember that motel use for homeless was in response to the Covid-19 crisis, but now they were “being used to mop up the housing crisis in Rotorua that have contributed to the behaviours we’re seeing on the street”.
”Who’s looking after their high and complex needs, mothers living with children next to 501s, people with gang relations waltzing in and out of motels … this is a big issue and it’s not going to go away.”
Council chief executive Geoff Williams also addressed councillors, noting the draft proposals were “not the complete plan”.
”Very much the first element off the ground to try and say how do we get some fast, immediate effect on our streets to make people feel when they got for a walk … that they do feel safe,” he said.
”This is the first element we’re looking at.”
’Hammered’ by criminals put into motels
For Watchdog Security chief executive Brett Wilson, there’s no “perception” of crime worsening.
It’s simply a fact.
Wilson told Stuff that he was standing around 20m away from a gang clash at a Lake Okareka boat ramp on February 28 when a firearm was shot into the air.
“That never used to happen in this town.”
Wilson, who has been in the security sector for 30 years, said he was having numerous conversations with members of Rotorua’s business community “sick of the tarnished image of Rotorua”.
He said the increased criminality can be tracked down to two main issues: the 501 influence emboldening gangs and that fact “we’ve been used as a dumping ground by MSD”.
“They’ve no fear of using firearms and don’t feel at risk of getting caught,” he said.
“I’ve been contacted by two residents [close to Fenton St motels], one an elderly guy terrified of what would happen to his house when he goes into hospital.”
He also said during one night on another road close to Fenton St, “every car was broken into”.
“That whole area is getting hammered by criminals put into motels.”