“Groups” now attack people in NZ

If you keep up with the news you may be forgiven for thinking crime in the Waikato town of Hamilton is out of control, and that the lack of a police presence has got something to do with it.

The situation has got so bad that ratepayer funded private cops are being considered as a solution to spiralling anti-social behaviour in central Hamilton.

From a news report by the Waikato Times, which studiously avoids the word “gang,” we learn

A Hamilton man was knocked unconscious in what police say was a vicious beating by a group of teens in a Hamilton park overnight.

The 59-year-old was on his way home when he was attacked by the group in Clyde Park near the new Wairere Drive extension off Clyde St about 9.30pm.

Detective Senior Sergeant Carl Moon said the beating appeared to be a random attack.

“He [the man] was walking through and was attacked by a number of young men and beaten severely. At this stage it appears to be completely out of the blue and the man had no knowledge it was coming.”

Police later used a tracker dog to find three males aged 15 to 17 years old. Their victim escaped serious injury and has been released from hospital.

Related

Pregnant woman assaulted, robbed by “group” in Levin (12 Dec 2014)

“A pregnant woman was walking her 2-year-old daughter in a pram when she was assaulted and robbed by a group of four people.

Police said the incident happened last night about 8pm on Bath Street, Levin…”The group demanded money from the woman and after she told them she had none they grabbed the pram with her child in it and then her handbag,” Detective Sergeant Peter Vine said.”

Hamilton, bellwether for breakdown of law and order in NZ (14 Nov 2014)

Hours after we wrote about the failure of the ‘comical’ New Zealand justice system and calls for private police to patrol the streets of Hamilton (read Brazil’s Police Succeed Where NZ’s Police Fail) there have been two further developments. Both of them are parlous statements about New Zealand’s failure to bring its escalating crime problem under control.

1. Riot Gas and batons on the streets of Hamilton Hamilton police  used riot gas and batons overnight to break up an attack on a police officer during a street brawl (the NZ media carefully avoided the word riot in their reporting). A 17 year old youth has been charged with assaulting a police officer and is due to appear in court…more

Violent New Zealand. Police Officer Shot in Hamilton Supermarket Carpark (25 August 2014)

Hamilton has long had a reputation as a boring town with a gang problem. But, today’s shooting of a police officer in a supermarket car park of all places, will shock many people inured to violence in New Zealand.

The NZ Herald has posted a picture of what looked like a sawn-off shotgun laying on the tarmac of the Mill Street PakN’Save.

The Herald stated that the shooting occurred after police followed a stolen vehicle into the parking area. That was linked to a police search for armed man Zeb McCallion….more