Kia ora Wānaka,

Our boys and girls in blue have been kept busy over the past couple of weeks throughout our area.

I could be wrong but since our last Crimeline I don’t think we have caught anyone for drink driving and this is not from a lack of us trying. If that is the case great work everyone. Maybe, just

maybe, the message is getting out there not to do it.

We have however been kept busy with plenty of driving complaints, especially through the Crown Range, and issuing plenty of tickets for RIDS. Like many organisations we love a good acronym. Every time an officer is out driving, we are looking to prevent harm on our roads for drivers not using their Restraints or seatbelts, Impaired drivers, Distracted drivers and Speed.

We also want to ensure your vehicle is up to warrant of fitness (WOF) standard and it is registered to be on our roads. If I had a dollar for every time, I was told the WOF is booked in for next week I would be in Paris watching the Rugby World Cup. Even if you are not the owner of the vehicle you are driving, it is your responsibility to make sure these are squared away.

We had two cars in separate incidents crash on the top of the hill heading out to Hāwea. On both occasions, there were wet roads and the drivers failed to alter their speed to suit the conditions. It made it an easy job for the tow truck. Two birds with one stone as they say.

We continue to have thefts reported from local stores. Many stores have good CCTV cameras operating which we use to identify the suspect/s. Please ensure you pay for your goods, or you could be explaining yourself to the judge.

Over Labour Weekend we saw the normal influx of youths in town trying their luck with fake IDs. This is an offence by misuse of a document. It was also disappointing to see some parents not bothered about their son or daughter getting caught by security or police.

In conjunction with our partner agencies (health and council) we conducted a controlled purchase operation in Wānaka which tests the systems that bottle stores and bars have in place to ensure they do not supply youth with alcohol.

For those who passed well done, you're a vital cog in ensuring our community is a safe place. Unfortunately, four businesses failed and we now look to work with them to ensure it doesn't happen again.

This failure can have an impact on the ability of those businesses to continue to have an alcohol licence.

As we work towards the summer break and New Year's Eve operations it's important that everyone plays their part. To those businesses that played their part and are regularly checking identification, what you're doing counts and has an impact in many ways so keep up the good work.

We have had a lot of property handed in from the long weekend. If you have lost glasses, phones, wallets, ID and bank cards please come and see us at the station to see if your property is here.

Stay safe out there Wānaka and have a great week.