_edited.png)
Crime in Upper Hutt
- Hellen_Swales
- Jul 5
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 18
Upper Hutt, 5th July 2025
Recently, several concerning break-ins have occurred at local businesses in Upper Hutt.
I am aware many in the community feel unsafe or concerned due to the increasing crime frequency e.g. home invasions, car break-ins, stolen cars, homelessness, and retail crime. I feel this is a real concern for businesses, our community.
Our council representatives are due to meet with the Police Area Commander this month, and I will raise these issues. The question for him is how he plans to address the recent increases in crime across most categories.
Recently, an Upper Hutt Police Community Constable attended the monthly Grey Power Meeting on the 18th June, which I also attended. This discussion focused on self-protection and the detection of scams for Grey Power members.
Area Commander Wade Jennings attended the Upper Hutt Multicultural Council meeting on the 19th June, where I was present as the Deputy Mayor of Upper Hutt. The discussions with the Area Commander centered on retail crime and general crime statistics for Upper Hutt. He commented on the rise in social issues as one of the common drivers.
The Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce hosted a meeting on 19th June on retail crime, attended by Sunny Kaushal, Chairman of the Ministerial Advisory Group on Retail Crime at the Ministry of Justice, Area Commander Wade Jennings, and I as Upper Hutt's Deputy Mayor. The agenda included:
Recent and upcoming legislative changes impacting retailers
Open discussion on challenges faced by large and small retail businesses
Sharing concerns directly with Ministry of Justice representatives
Collaborating on solutions to make communities and businesses safer
Several Upper Hutt retailers attended the Chamber event. An Upper Hutt council officer shared that our Upper Hutt retailers have an advanced network among themselves and direct access to the police through this network. While the council can’t provide a large network of cameras.
Our Council recently updated the CCTV cameras we're responsible for, positioning them based on Police recommendations. These cameras are monitored by Police and volunteers at the Lower Hutt Police Station.
While a CEPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) report was conducted some years ago, the city's CBD hasn't dramatically changed. That report highlighted areas needing work, including the underpass to the big box retail, Centre Walk, the toilets behind the old National Bank, and the walkway from Main Street to the car park behind Astral Towers. Unless police or crime statistics support a new report, which would come with an unbudgeted cost, we won't be engaging another consultant at this time.
You're right that crime isn't new to Upper Hutt. I'll be questioning the Area Commander about current mitigation efforts in our community, where he also resides. This includes asking if more cameras are needed and, if so, where they should be placed.
We are seeing a surge in theft due to the cost-of-living crisis, with incidents ranging from planned to opportunistic.
Below you will see the Crime Statistics for the period March 2024 to April 2025, along with comparisons to previous years, 2023 and 2024. These are sourced from the NZ Police Crime Snapshot dataset.
If anyone has concerns or views, they would like raised with the Area Commander, please send them to hellen.swales@uhcc.govt.nz, and I will include them in our discussions. We look forward to further discussions with Wade and our elected members.
Authorised by Hellen Swales: hellenformayor@gmail.com
