Businessman Tony Taylor, who runs the town's community patrol and the crime-busting Kaikohe Community Watch Facebook page, said he had had a "gutsful". A sergeant and one other officer were in Kaikohe and police reached the service station three minutes after the first 111 call, Symonds said. Police were following up with the victims in Kaikohe today to offer crime prevention advice and any support they needed. Northland MP and NZ First leader Winston Peters said the first step to cutting crime in Kaikohe was to boost police strength. He believed much of the youth crime in places such as Kaikohe were "stealing to order", where adults got youth to steal because they were untouchable.

Source: New Zealand Herald March 19, 2017 20:28 UTC