A range of incidents were dealt with by local police over the past week, including violent crime, criminal harassment, speeding and dangerous driving.

Wānaka Police were called to a serious assault in Hāwea in the early hours last Thursday (August 1).

“The male victim received serious injuries requiring hospital admission,” Wānaka Police Senior Sergeant Fiona (Fi) Roberts said. 

The Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) is investigating the “serious” matter, she said. 

Two days earlier a female was arrested and charged with criminal harassment. 

Fi said the charge of criminal harassment relates to a pattern of behaviour that is directed against another person. The matter is now before the courts.

According to Community Law it describes behaviour that meets two criteria: it must amount to ‘harassment’ in the Harassment Act, which includes a range of specific acts (eg. following the victim, contacting them or hanging around their house).

To meet the ‘criminal’ criteria the harasser must intend to, or know that, the harassment is likely to make someone fear for the safety of themselves or their loved ones.

A motorcyclist was caught driving at 171kph near Tarras last weekend.

They have been charged with dangerous driving and their vehicle was seized, Fi said. 

Three people were caught drink driving in the Wānaka area last weekend, one of them with a breath alcohol level of more than 400 micrograms per litre, and the two others at between 250-400 micrograms per litre.

Fraud and scams continue to be a problem and people can educate themselves about avoiding these types of incidents by following Netsafe advice, Fi said.

Macpherson Street residents are angry about bad driver behaviour on the road and police will continue to focus on it, Fi said.

They will also be focusing on people without helmets riding bikes, and Fi noted that people on bikes after dark should use lights and wear bright clothing.

She also stressed the importance of continuing to drive to winter conditions.

“We’ve had some fine weather but we’re still in the thick of winter,” she said. 

She reminded drivers that automatic car lights do not register fog and urges drivers to manually turn their lights on in foggy conditions.

Citing the Tarras motorcyclist example, Fi said speeding was also a “concerning feature” of local driving behaviour.

“...even when speed doesn’t cause the crash, it is the single biggest determinant in whether anyone is killed, injured or walks away unharmed.”

Two “well-intentioned” males travelled out the back of Treble Cone towards the Shotover/Mt Hyde area, Fi said, and “probably misunderstood” the extent of the trip they had planned.

They were reported overdue when they failed to return as expected, Fi said. 

“Police deployed to the Shotover Valley to locate the vehicle to ascertain where the pair had intended to traverse to.”

She said the pair found their own way back last Tuesday afternoon (July 30) after having been “caught out by darkness”.

Fi said Wānaka Police were receiving a lot of lost property from local ski fields and encouraged anyone missing anything to visit the police station.

Call 111 when you need an emergency response from police, fire or ambulance.

Call 105 to report things that don’t need urgent police assistance.

Call *555 to report road incidents that are urgent but not life-threatening.

To make an anonymous crime report contact Crime Stoppers.

PHOTO: Wānaka App