Foreign travelers to New Zealand's North Island, specifically Kerikeri, are urged to be cautious, particularly late at night due to increased incidence of street robberies and muggings.
As an example, a Swedish national was hit over the head with a wooden stick last week and then held down and robbed of his phone and cash. Typically, a tactic is used whereby assailants ask a tourist for a cigarette to delay their movement and then rob them of their valuables. Most of the assailants are young.
Days later, a second attack involved a 20-year-old German tourist who was attacked while walking back to Aranga from a movie theater at 2200. The victim, a woman, reported that she had noticed a couple kissing and was approached by the female who demanded that she hand over her bag. The German promptly complied, but was still punched and threatened before the couple left on foot. During the course of the robbery, the young woman had a Cannon EOS 550D camera, a wallet, passport, cash, bank cards, homeopathic medicine and two cellphones stolen.
Neither case resulted in any arrests.
COMMENT: Inasmuch as tourism is such a crucial industry throughout New Zealand, local citizens and governments want to rid their communities of local criminals who prey on tourists. A young man had his jaw broken in an unprovoked attack in Kerikeri two weeks ago and a young woman was also hit in the face by another assailant.
It seems apparent that local communities that are seeing a rise in crime against both tourists and locals alike would be well advised to either install surveillance cameras in areas where robberies have occurred and/or deploy saturation patrols into high-crime areas so that arrests can be made.
In the interim, foreign visitors are urged to obtain international medical treatment and evacuation coverage and not carry high-value property at night, thereby reducing the risk of theft during hours of darkness. If you need a list of underwriters, please contact me at: ed@sbrisksolutions.com.
Moreover, victims should always report crimes to the police and obtain a copy of completed police reports. Victim Support, Ground Floor, 180 Molesworth Street, PO Box 3017, Wellington, NZ. Phone (04) 474 8862, Fax (04) 495 3076, Email victim@xtra.co.nz and http://www.victimsupport.org.nz
Neither case resulted in any arrests.
COMMENT: Inasmuch as tourism is such a crucial industry throughout New Zealand, local citizens and governments want to rid their communities of local criminals who prey on tourists. A young man had his jaw broken in an unprovoked attack in Kerikeri two weeks ago and a young woman was also hit in the face by another assailant.
It seems apparent that local communities that are seeing a rise in crime against both tourists and locals alike would be well advised to either install surveillance cameras in areas where robberies have occurred and/or deploy saturation patrols into high-crime areas so that arrests can be made.
In the interim, foreign visitors are urged to obtain international medical treatment and evacuation coverage and not carry high-value property at night, thereby reducing the risk of theft during hours of darkness. If you need a list of underwriters, please contact me at: ed@sbrisksolutions.com.
Moreover, victims should always report crimes to the police and obtain a copy of completed police reports. Victim Support, Ground Floor, 180 Molesworth Street, PO Box 3017, Wellington, NZ. Phone (04) 474 8862, Fax (04) 495 3076, Email victim@xtra.co.nz and http://www.victimsupport.org.nz
