Whakatane Community Patrol

12/12/2025

Whakatane Community patrol car dressed up for the Christmas Parade

12/12/2025

A confidential tip-offs from the Whangamatā community has helped Police disrupt the supply of methamphetamine into town.

Police are praising the public for taking a stand against the damaging drug, and a 34-year-old man is now facing charges of possessing methamphetamine for supply and obstructing Police.

“Our confidential informants are the real heroes here,” says Sergeant Will Hamilton.

“This great catch was a direct result of information provided to Police by members of the public. Thanks to the information they have given us, we were able to intercept a significant amount of methamphetamine, that was packaged and ready for sale to vulnerable members of our community.”

On Wednesday 10 December, Police executed two warrants simultaneously at two separate addresses in Whangamatā and located 16 grams of methamphetamine and other items used for the supply of methamphetamine.

The 34-year-old Whangamatā man is in remanded in custody and is due to re-appear in Waihi District Court on 15 December.

Sergeant Hamilton says a significant amount of harm has been prevented “thanks to people picking up the phone and coming to see us”.

“Police have no tolerance for this type of offending, and it’s great to see members of the public standing up for their community and reporting suspicious and criminal behaviour.

“Drugs like methamphetamine cause untold harm to its users, their families, and the community as a whole. People steal to feed their habits and the damage keeps on going. Taking out these suppliers does a world of good.

“I encourage anyone who has information about drug-related offending, or any other offending, to please get in touch. Your identity will be well protected, so please contact us via 105 or come and see us at the local station,” Sergeant Hamilton says.

You can also make anonymous reports through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

07/12/2025

A couple of photos of some of our patrollers who were able to make it to the Christmas Dinner.
Hard to get a day that suits everyone this time of the year

03/12/2025

Thumbs up to the man who removed a chilly bin from the middle of the Gorge Rd to stop people swerving to avoid it

03/12/2025

03/12/2025

We had a very good meeting tonight at the Presbyterian church with 22 present, five new members and three potential members.
One of our new members being technology savvy did some training on how to put the new app on your phone to log into COMMs when starting your patrol.
Having our Christmas Dinner at one of our Coastlands members homes this weekend and our float is all organised for the Christmas Float parade in Whakatane.
With the new members joining and trained up we are able to do more patrols which is great news.

20/11/2025

Whakatane Community Patrol had a very successful security number plate screws morning at Bunnings, attending to 125 cars which beat last year’s record of 104. The team worked flat out as the cars kept arriving to be attended to.
Our Police Liaison Officer Rob Jones, assistedby one of his colleagues helped keep us hydrated and fed us and the public with sweets and sausages cooked by Blue Light.
Neighbourhood Support were making sure the public was aware of the benefits of being involved in their group, helping keep them safe and reducing crime in their streets.
Many thanks to Bunnings for providing the venue and bits and pieces to make the day a great success

18/11/2025

The security screws for number plates at Bunnings has been changed from tomorrow to Thursday because af the weather

29/10/2025

In the past week 17 cars were interfered with or stolen around Whakatāne, must just about be a record for Whakatane.
Don’t leave valuables in your cars and don’t park on the street if you have a choice, park under lights, car alarms are a great deterrent and not too expensive.
Some people are putting trackers on their cars and machinery which have been very successful in recovery of your stolen vehicle.
We had our car stolen while on holiday in Whangārei years ago and the insurance company were surprised to hear it was recovered in Auckland, saying only 30% of cars were recovered in 1999 when it happened