Robberies: Youths in Court

Police in Cambridge arrested two teenagers today. 

By Bell Tollemache 

More youngsters have been implicated in robberies and burglaries in the Waikato. 

Police have reported a series of arrests in the past week following incidents in Hamilton, Cambridge and Te Kūiti – the latest today (July30) when seven youths were charged following a robbery in Te Rapa and two in Cambridge. 

Hamilton Police are investigating the possibility of a link between the seven and a series of thefts and shoplifting in the area over the last month. 

The Cambridge arrests followed a break-in at a commercial property on Duke Street. Two 15-year-old boys will appear in court on charges of burglary, unlawful hijacking of a vehicle and breach of bail. 

The nine arrests came days after three teenagers aged 13 to 15 were arrested following the aggravated robbery of a Te Kuiti mini-mart where the owner was attacked and items smashed with a hammer. 

On Wednesday police in Hamilton took four males aged 14 to 21 into custody. They responded after reports  items had been snatched from a store in a Hamilton Central Mall. A shop assistant attempted to block the youth’s as they left but was not injured. 

The arrests come in the wake of a report earlier this year which suggested youth offending was declining. 

After the release of the annual report on the Child and Youth Strategy, the Minister for Children Karen Chhour said she wanted to take the opportunity “to acknowledge the significant progress to what was once a national shame, youth crime, and has now become a great success of this government”.  

She said the country was now seeing offending rates amongst children dropping, and the improvement since 2019-20 was  significant and positive.