Bay of Plenty police say demand for methamphetamine is driving crime in the region.
In the past year more than 5000 burglaries have been reported to police, leaving victims to reassess their security.
Tata Strickland was left in shock after his car was stolen from outside his Rotorua home.
"It was really scary that someone could've walked into our house and broke into our home so we've become much more security conscious," he says.
He's just one of thousands hit by a wave of crime in the Bay of Plenty and police say methamphetamine's to blame.
“At the moment the burglaries in the Bay of Plenty are being driven by methamphetamine - the demand has increased dramatically and behind the demand of methamphetamine is gangs. Gangs are selling this stuff to our communities and we want to address that as quickly as possible,” says Steve Bullock, police district prevention manager.
Police data shows more than 5000 burglaries were reported in the Bay of Plenty in the last year,
And while police wait for updated census data to assess which regions are being hit the hardest, they're certain of the cause.
"We don't have any detailed evidence at the moment but we are very confident that the increase in burglaries, especially the lower level burglaries, are driven by the increase in methamphetamine that's in our communities,” says Mr Bullock.
Police data reveals a worrying increase in this type of offending across the country, in the last year there's been more than 200,000 burglary and theft-related offences nationwide.
Police say they also have an increased focus on organised crime.
“We’ve got an increased focus on organised crime but we can’t do that without the help of communities. We need people to speak up and police don’t buy into this gang is about family stuff.
"They may care about their own family but they don’t care about selling meth to your family, or the family next door," says Mr Bullock.
He's encouraging communities to call for help to reduce crime across the country.
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