While street crime across the country continues to plague city centres and businesses, one centre has been bucking the trend.
Every day, Gisborne Police can be seen out on the streets, carrying out patrols and checking in on local businesses.
Tairāwhiti area commander Danny Kirk said his team refocused their priorities midway through last year to focus on community engagement.
“That was in line with our organisational priorities, which was a focus on being visible in places where we have a high volume of members of the public present. It was evident to us also that shoplifting was a significant issue in the Tairāwhiti area,” he said.
The crime rate in the Gisborne CBD is down 60% – its lowest since 2022.
Kirk said historically, it “wasn’t uncommon” to see around 100 shoplifting incidents per month in the region. In January, that figure has “dropped down as low as around the 40 occurrences mark”.
A key part of the initiative was police staying in close contact with high-risk offenders and supporting them to address underlying issues.
In one instance, he said police realised a person had some “underlying issues which were contributing to the reasons why they were offending”.
“So, we referred that person to an external community provider who was able to provide them with support around an addictions issue which, consequently, they haven’t reoffended,” Kirk said.
‘Constantly targeted’
Just eight months ago, local shop owners were at their wits’ end.
Stirling Sports Gisborne co-owner Tracey Johnston started an online community group with other business operators to keep them alert.
“They were constantly targeted almost every day and we’re talking big dollars, lots of product flying out of the door, people running in grabbing stuff,” she said.
Johnston said the group – combined with the increased police presence – has made a positive difference in the community.
Johnston said she had “definitely noticed a decrease in retail crime”, adding that the police patrols were “definitely a deterrent for shoplifters”.
While retailers agreed crime in the city centre might be declining, others were concerned it may be spiking in other areas.
Retailer Jasmine Moody said the community crime rate has gone up.
“They’re targeting more houses, targeting our older people – even our younger ones are getting targeted,” Moody said.
“You always see online, ‘oh, our car’s been stolen’, ‘anyone missing their car?’, ‘this looks sketchy’.
“And then someone not so long ago stole probably a few hundred grand worth of stuff – boats, trailers, motorbikes – and then it was a community member that caught them, and it was put on Facebook.”
Police say anecdotally, organised crime has had a part to play and were aware of instances where stealing to order has taken place.
“It’s understanding both ends of that and ensuring that our efforts are targeted on addressing organised crime as well,” Kirk said.