Wellington community tired of brazen tyre thieves

Residents in the seaside suburb of Eastbourne, Wellington, say they're considering community patrols as the area is being repeatedly targeted by brazen wheel thieves.

Police say they have little to go on and last night members of the community met to discuss what they could do to improve security in the quiet, but isolated, neighbourhood.

Brazen early morning thefts

A fortnight ago Saije McLeod headed out to his car to drive to work, only to find two wheels missing and the car propped up on pieces of firewood.

"It was pretty gutting. I do a really difficult job and my car's kind of my treat to myself so I was pretty upset."

He said his car was parked less than 20 metres from his home, close to the Eastbourne Village shops.

"[It's] right out in the open [where] there's a few carparks for beach access so pretty brazen," McLeod said.

He said he reported the theft to police but it wasn't till he posted about it on a local community page on social media that he realised a spate of similar crimes had hit a nerve in the community.

"I just wanted to see if anybody had seen or heard anything weird going on. People started commenting that they're seeing more and more cars around the bays that were sitting on this firewood always with just two wheels missing," McLeod said.

He said the first day the post was up he heard of up to 11 other cars being hit and then less than a week later he saw posts about another rash of thefts.

He said theories were flying about suspicious vehicles and individuals in the neighbourhood.

"I know that it really affected the community this time. We've had cars and stuff getting nicked before but something about this time really upset people," McLeod said.

Mariana Piccagli said she often left home early to open her cafe in central Lower Hutt.

When she got into her car on Marine Parade on the morning of June 17 she immediately knew something wasn't right.

She said she got into the driver's seat and noticed it was unbalanced and then realised it was missing two wheels.

She borrowed her daughter's car to get to work and during the day started the process of calling friends to stabilise the car, make a report to police and instigate an insurance claim.

"I went on Facebook and I noticed that the same night there were three or four other cars," Piccagli said.

Eastbourne is a small suburb of bays on the eastern side of Wellington harbour.

The area is only accessible by one road in or out and Piccagli said there was little police presence to speak of.

"You feel like you have no police at all in Eastbourne any time so I think that the people that do this feel very confident that nobody will follow them," Piccagli said.

Police say most thefts have 'no substantial lines of enquiry'

Hutt Valley area prevention manager, Inspector Shaun Lingard, said police had received reports of recent wheel thefts across the Lower Hutt but police declined to answer RNZ's questions about how many similar thefts had been reported in recent months.

"Police assessed the information provided in the reports and unfortunately in most cases, we have no substantial lines of enquiry to follow, and these reports have been filed pending any further information.

"In cases where there are lines of enquiry to follow - such as available CCTV footage - we will review this and investigate accordingly," Lingard said.

Locals look to establish community patrol

On Wednesday night a meeting was held in O'Malleys Bar & Kitchen in Days Bay to discuss the community response to the thefts.

Earlier in the year the venue was also targeted by thieves who were caught on camera loading one of the business's outdoor table and chair sets onto a trailer in the middle of the night.

Meeting organiser Marni Stevenson said about a dozen people attended the meeting and there was significant support to create a community patrol along the lines of similar initiative in nearby Petone.

She said the meeting was attended by people who had cars stolen and been burgled as well as some who had been involved in a previous neighbourhood watch scheme about 10 years prior.

"What is commonly uttered in our community [is] about how things have gotten bad since we haven't had a community copper [sic] here for some years.

"People have been feeling frustrated about that for a long time and quite worried about how crime has increased in the community and how vulnerable people feel," Stevenson said.

She said the meeting was buoyed by some community members who worked in police, offering to assist in the group's communication with police.

She said the group would investigate fundraising and try to gather further support to make its idea of a new community patrol in Eastbourne a reality.

"I was really delighted. There's some people that already have some experience doing this. We've got some police involved who are really passionate. People are already brainstorming. It was really positive," Stevenson said.