'Significant' increase in Wellington car theft amid Mazda trend on social media

Tuesday, 18 May 2021

Teenagers, some as young as 13, are believed to be responsible for a significant increase in vehicle crime in Wellington. (File photo).

A social media challenge attempting to glorify car theft has resulted in a significant increase in vehicle crime in recent months.

Police are working with Netsafe and the Censor’s office to take down the online content posted by teenagers in an effort to stop the spate of thefts.

Taranaki police last week said a group of 30 teenagers, some as young as 13, are believed to be responsible for stealing more than 100 Mazdas in the region, apparently inspired by a social media trend.

The trend has also hit Wellington, with Detective Senior Sergeant Warwick McKee saying police have seen a significant increase in vehicle crime in the past three months, with the northern suburbs of Wellington and the Porirua area most affected.

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Detective Senior Sergeant Warwick McKee said police are working with Iwi, offenders and their families to curb the trend which has seen a significant rise in car theft in Wellington.

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The social media trend involving youths uploading videos of themselves stealing cars has hit Wellington, resulting in a 'significant' increase in vehicle-related crimes.

“The cars being stolen, are blatantly being driven, dumped and left with broken windows and damage to their ignitions,” McKee said.

Online videos viewed by Stuff showing youths breaking into vehicles, hot-wiring them and fleeing police. The videos are being shared on social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

McKee said police have apprehended a number of young people, aged between 13 and 20, some of whom are currently going through the youth justice process.

However, due to their ages, a number of those apprehended are being returned to caregivers, only to repeat the cycle, he said. Others have been placed on bail conditions, with regular checks.

Between January 1 and April 22, police recorded 582 vehicle thefts across the Wellington district. Of those, 387 vehicles have been recovered. There was a notable increase in stolen vehicles reported in Kāpiti-Mana in April, McKee said.

But in the two weeks leading up to April 22 alone, 97 vehicles were reported as being stolen across the district, of those 54 were recovered.

Mt Victoria resident Phoebe McInerney-Heather had her Mazda Demio stolen recently. To make matters worse, those who stole it managed to get a $300 speeding ticket, which arrived in her mailbox a few weeks after the theft.

McInerney-Heather’s car was found dumped and damaged in Hutt Valley and had been clocked going 130km/h. She was able to get the speeding ticket waived.

A Tawa woman, who declined to be named, said her Mazda Demio was broken into and the ignition ripped out, but the attempted thieves damaged the ignition so much they weren’t able to start the car.

“We are a one-car family, so we had no car for six weeks, so we had to make do with a bit of help from friends and a bit of walking here and there. Although we were lucky enough not to lose the car, it’s been a real drag,” she said.

The woman said she had viewed the social media videos and said the teenagers were “obviously looking for attention”.

In order to stop the trend, McKee said police have increased patrols, are monitoring known offenders, offering prevention advice, and acting with urgency when they’re able to identify offenders, to prevent further offences.