'Unprecedented': Northland gets more cops as crime surges

Otago Daily Times

a day ago

By Peter de Graaf of RNZ
An "unprecedented" spate of violent crimes and a significant police shortage in Northland has seen more than 90 police staff called in to bolster the region's thin blue line.
The special staff operation has been running for three months, with about 30 police from as far as Southland re-deployed to Northland for five weeks at a time to plug the gaps, with no end date in sight.
Northland police have been stretched this year by nine alleged homicides in a four-month period - more than all the homicides recorded across the region in 2024.
Superintendent Matt Srhoj, the head of Northland police, said the pressure was compounded by a shortage of 25 officers across the region.
Eighteen months ago the staffing deficit was double that, a shortage of 50 police.
Srhoj said Operation Tai Pari was currently on its third cohort of 30 staff.
He said investigating homicides took a lot of time, and large teams of staff had to be assembled at short notice.
"As a result, some other matters that we would normally be investigating get put on hold, or don't get the timely attention that they deserve … So we put the call out [for extra staff] so we could still respond to other matters."
He described a run of four homicides during a three-week period in February and March as "unprecedented".
Most of the extra officers had been placed in Mid and Far North towns such as Kaikohe, Kerikeri, Kaitāia, Kawakawa and Moerewa, where staffing pressure was greatest.
They were being used to boost staff numbers in front-line, investigative and road policing roles.
Srhoj said more rotations were possible in coming months.
Other parts of the country were not left short-staffed because just two or three came from each district at a time.
Northland had supported other districts with staff when they were in need.
Srhoj said the officers sent to Northland would have been paid regardless, but the operation's cost was "significant" because of the extra allowances, travel and accommodation.
Srhoj told Checkpoint that bringing in officers from out of region was not a permanent solution.
"It's only a short-term to medium-term sort of strategy... obviously we're looking at ways that we can increase our recruiting, we've got a real desire to get our local people... We've got dedicated recruiters who are doing a really great job at getting people who do apply through in a timely fashion.
"We're quite lucky as an organisation to be a national police force, you know we can call on support from across the country when needed."
Roddy Hapati Pihema, a community leader and Kawakawa-Moerewa representative on the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board, described the temporary boost to policing numbers as a "positive step".
Burnouts and burglaries were "rife" in his area, but police were so stretched it could take a week or more to respond to a non-emergency call.
He gave the example of a kuia who had been told to preserve evidence and not touch anything after her home was broken into, and ended up waiting two weeks.
"So having police officers coming into our community form other areas, I think that's a positive thing," Hapati-Pihema said.
"My only concern is that a lot of police who come from the cities don't understand the dynamics of rural living. It's not the same here. But I'm really happy something's being done. Crime's just got out of control and it needs to be reined in. The biggest issue is that people believe they can get away with it, because there's not enough police out there."
That was not the fault of police, but a problem that had to solved by central government, he said.
John Vujcich, Kaikohe representative on the Far North District Council, also welcomed the boost to the thin blue line.
"They're doing what they need to be doing, which is getting on top of those [homicide] cases. So I think it's great. The sooner they get on to those cases, the sooner justice is seen to be done."
However, Vujcich said he had not noticed any more police on the ground, which he believed was needed to deter street racing - which had led to the tragic death of a 12-year-old girl last week - and methamphetamine dealing.
And while more police were needed, they could not solve the Far North's problems on their own.
"You need to deal with the crime, but you also need to pick people up who've fallen into a hole, which may not be any fault of their own. You need to give them opportunities and teach them they are worth something, and give them skills and well-paying jobs."
But some Northlanders had noticed extra police on the streets.
A Kaikohe man, who did not want to be named, said he had been stopped at a traffic checkpoint for the first time in three years.
Everyone manning the checkpoint was from outside the district, he said.
"I know most of the police in Kaikohe, and the odd ones that come across from Kerikeri, but there were absolutely no familiar faces there at all."
He was delighted to see extra police in the town and hoped they would deter "the bloody motorbikes running riot, the lawlessness, cars speeding through the town".
"I think it's great, quite frankly… They're just so under-resourced."
Meanwhile, Srhoj said good progress was being made in recruiting new officers in Northland, in Whangārei especially - though the pool of potential recruits became smaller further north.
Police were keen to recruit Northlanders because they were more likely to stay long term.
"We've had more people going through police college coming back to Northland than we've ever had."
Srhoj also hoped the opening of a new police college campus in Auckland would help boost numbers.
Northland's deadly crime wave
Northland police launched nine homicide investigations in a four-month period between late January and May, one more than in all of 2024.
They include two alleged murders in one day on March 15 (in Whangārei and Kaikohe) and on May 21 (in Kaikohe and the remote Utakura Valley, near Horeke).
Two cases (one alleged murder, one manslaughter) involve three-year-old children.
Police have made arrests in all nine cases, which are continuing to make their way through the courts.
There have been no more homicides (a legal term covering murder and manslaughter) since May 21.
The nine victims are:
- 29-01-25: Kyle Jenkins, 17, Whangārei.
- 23-02-25: Reign Puriri, 3, Te Kamo (Aitua Puriri has pleaded guilty to manslaughter/failing to provide the necessaries of life, and is due to be sentenced in October).
- 27-02-25: Yvonne Chapman, 66, Onerahi.
- 15-03-25: Toby Adams, 62, Whangārei.
- 15-03-25: Estene Rapatini, Kaikohe.
- 15 or 16-04-25: Archibald McKenzie, 63, Te Tii (Kerikeri).
- 09-05-25: Geoffrey Ware, 55, Parakao.
- 21-05-25: Catalya Tangimetua-Pepene, 3, Kaikohe.
- 21-05-25: Daniel Hepehi, 77, Utakura Valley (Horeke).