There's been a sharp increase in vehicle crime at Auckland's One Tree Hill since the summit was shut off to cars.
The Tūpuna Maunga Authority, which looks after Auckland’s volcanic cone alongside the council, is being urged to take responsibility.
Figures from NZ Police show in the 12 months leading up to the summit being pedestrianised in May 2018, there were 37 vehicle crime incidents.
In the 18 months after, the number of reports rose to 81.
And local Maungakiekie MP Denise Lee suspects the number could actually be higher.
“When averaged out to a per month figure, it’s an increase of more than 60 per cent," she said.
“This is only taking into account reported incidents. The figure is likely to be even higher as the number of unreported incidents is expected to be significant.”
Onehunga Community Patrol volunteer Peter Grainger agreed.
“Almost every patrol we come up here, we find a car that's been broken into,” he said.
“The thieves know they've got plenty of time to break into a car, cause people are walking to the summit.”
The carpark next to the closed summit road is the main target, where there’s only a small sign reminding people not to leave valuables in the car.
“We as locals, and actually on behalf of Auckland and NZ, cause it's a reputation for tourists, we need something done about it,” Ms Lee said.
Ms Lee volunteers for the Community Patrol group herself, recalling a story about a French family whose rental car was broken into.
“They were leaving four hours later, their passports were stolen, their wallets were stolen, everything was stolen.”
There are calls for the Maunga Authority to install security cameras, with police supporting that idea.
Auckland City east area commander, inspector Aaron Pascoe, said they were happy to work with any community groups or organisations that want advice on crime prevention.
"This includes the installation of CCTV cameras which are an excellent tool to not only help prevent crime but to catch offenders," Mr Pascoe said.
"Police conduct regular patrolling in this area, but urge any members of our community who witness suspicious behaviour to please contact 111 immediately."
It’s believed the authority has money to act, but Ms Lee says it has “brushed off the issue.”
"I discovered with a little bit of research that the Maunga Authority over the last 3 years has under spent their budget by millions, literally more than a million every single year for the last three years,” she said.
The Tupuna Maunga Authority wouldn’t appear on camera but in a statement said it hasn’t “brushed off the issue”.
It says it's aware there’s been criminal activity in the carpark following the pedestrianisation of One Tree Hill, and has been working with NZ Police.
“Since the closure of the summit road to vehicles we have increased security patrols and hired temporary staff over the summer peak period to monitor car parks across the Maunga network," said Nick Turoa, Tūpuna Maunga Authority operations manager.
“The authority’s management team have been proactively exploring options for security cameras that meet the challenges of the environment, such as avoiding power cable trenching that would impact the archaeological fabric of the Maunga.”
Cameras are being trialled at Mt Eden, with plans to roll them out if they’re successful.
“The best deterrent for theft from cars is to remove valuables from the vehicle, as you would at other public open spaces,” said Mr Turoa.
Locals are calling for action to be taken soon, to prevent other visitors being left with a tainted memory of Maungakiekie.
SHARE ME