From the mayor

A spate of burglaries in Martinborough a month or so ago had everyone on edge. The mini crime wave resulted in rumours that gangs and drugs were invading the town and demands for more police. Fortunately the first two points were indeed simply rumours and the police apprehended the alleged burglars pretty quickly.

Two important points have come out of the resulting conversations with the police. Firstly, nationwide, the New Zealand Police have not had any appreciable increase in their budget for five years. They are expected to do more with less. This means that, whatever our protestations, we are unlikely to see additional staff in Wairarapa anytime soon. We need to be a smart community working with the resource we have, not against it.
 
Secondly and more importantly though, the lack of security of property and possessions was a key factor in many of the crimes. This is something we can tackle. Sadly rural people are more likely to be complacent when it comes to security precautions. This is daft as it just makes it easy for people to nick our stuff.
 
Always lock the doors and windows of your house and outbuildings. Lock your car, even in the drive, never leave the keys in it and remove all valuables at night.
 
Simple precautions may not completely prevent  you being burgled but at least they make the process as difficult as possible.