Police raid central Wellington emergency accommodation motel, seize drugs and stolen property

Wednesday, 17 March 2021

Wellington police have searched a central city motel used for emergency accommodation, seized drugs and stolen property.

The raid will fuel concerns about a sharp rise in crime and anti-social behaviour associated with the emergency housing in the centre of the capital, and comes just a day after Wellington list MP Nicola Willis and several Wellington city councillors said they didn’t feel safe in the central city.

About 20 officers, including the Armed Offenders Squad, raided Harbour City Motor Inn on Webb St in Te Aro early on Wednesday morning. They uncovered methamphetamine, cannabis and stolen property, said Detective Senior Sergeant Warwick McKee.

No arrests had yet been made, and enquiries were ongoing, he said.

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A resident of the motel, who declined to give his name, told Stuff he was on bail and had lived at the motel for about three months.

“Police dropped me off here. They’re here every day, about five times a day, because they have to do bail checks,” he said. “There’s no families here, it’s pretty much everyone on bail. There’s lots of gangs in there too. Every type of gang you can think of. That’s why the cops are always here.”

He said there were assaults, parties and people abusing staff inside the motel.

In August, a person was stabbed outside the motel.

The owners of Harbour City Motor Inn did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A motel staff member declined to discuss the search.

Ministry of Social Development general manager of housing Karen Hocking confirmed the motel is being used for emergency housing.

“For privacy reasons we are unable to give you more details about those living there who are our clients. Emergency hardship special needs grants are a hardship assistance payment rather than a contracted supplier agreement,” she said.

The motel has a “no vacancy” sign outside and rooms are not able to be booked online.

A nearby resident, who has lived in the area for the past six years, said he and his wife had noticed a “significant increase” in crime in past year and a half.

The couple, who declined to be named in fear of being targeted, said there had been a “marked change” in the past 18 months. Their son was assaulted on the street nearby over a year ago, they said.

“We don’t have a problem with that location being used as emergency housing, we’d simply like to see it happen in a fit-for-purpose building, with appropriate support services provided on site,” the man said.

The woman said she no longer walked past the motel in the evenings, opting to have someone pick her up instead.

”We are all fed up with it,” she said. “I'm just frustrated. We bought into the neighbourhood, we knew it was the central city, and there's always that sort of activity.”

But there were also lots of young students living away from home for the first time. “It just doesn't feel safe any more,” she said.

According to its website, the motel has 23 studios, two family rooms and a three-bedroom penthouse apartment. Reviews on Trip Advisor described the conditions in the motel as “sub-standard” and a “health hazard”.

“Very unsafe place with dirty rooms, the beds are stained and the rooms are cold. The outside of the motel when arriving had boarded up windows. Also had mould in the bathrooms,” said one reviewer.

The number of people in emergency housing in Wellington has risen by 300 per cent in a year.

Police said they had been aware for some time that areas of the central city, particularly Courtenay Place, were over-represented for disorder and assault.

Previously, Wellington Area Commander Inspector Dean Silvester​ said the suburb of Te Aro remained “the area of greatest concern” to police.

In email correspondence with a city councillor, released to Stuff under the Official Information Act, Silvester said the use of hotels in the CBD for high-density social housing was having a real impact on the city.

“There has been a significant increase in our demand as a consequence of this,” he said.