Children aged 10-14 are the most likely culprits behind car break ins in the Bay of Plenty within the last three years, according to police numbers.

Ruth, who doesn't want her last name used, says she is 'one of 20 or more” people who have suffered a break in within the last few days near Ranch Road, Mount Maunganui.

Her car was broken into at about 2.30am on Tuesday, March 3.

'My car was parked on Ranch Road. I'm not sure if all of the cars they broke into were there, but I know my car was one of the last they broke into because that's roughly where they got caught,” says Ruth.

'Police told me there were ‘twenty plus' other cars in the area which were also broken into, and it was ‘done by a group of kids'. They actually tried to steal my car, the ignition was taken out. I'm having to start my car with a knife at the moment.”

There's a surprising face behind car break ins within the Bay of Plenty. Photo: John Borren.

Ruth says she is 'frustrated” by the lack of punishment for the young offenders.

'The police have done a great job here. They have all the information and have done all they can, but there needs to be some consequences. I've heard judges say ‘they're just kids' and ‘they can't afford' to be punished. At the very least their parents should pay.

'If I was to crash into a car I'd still be paying it off, but if they break into 20 cars they don't have any consequences. Who's to say I have the money to pay for what they've done? It seems ridiculous.”

A police spokesperson says police responded to reports of vehicles being "interfered with" on Ranch Road at about 2.30am on Tuesday, March 7.

"It appears the incident was related to one vehicle theft and another attempted vehicle taking.

"Five youths were taken into custody on charges of unlawfully getting into a vehicle and unlawfully entering a vehicle."

"They were due to appear in Youth Court yesterday. Enquiries are ongoing."

Te Tuinga Whanau is a charity who provides youth support services.

Its CIO, or 'chief imagination officer', Tommy ‘Kapai' Wilson says the demographic shift is 'not surprising”.

Te Tuinga Whanau chief imagination officer Tommy 'Kapai' Wilson. Photo: Rosalie Liddle Crawford/SunLive.

'There's an aura of urgency both post Covid-19 and after the cyclone. I don't think people realise the level of desperation there is everywhere, and people don't seem to consider the repercussions of their actions as much now.

'The deterrence of repercussions seems to be mattering less. But on the other side, you have to come up with a solution. We can't be a nation of ngāti whingers unless we put our hands up and do something.

'At Te Tuinga Whanau, we have about 4000 interventions every year. Of all of those 4000, you could fit on one hand the amount of kids who are connected with their culture.

'I believe what we need to do is connect these lost kids to their culture. Through their maraes, through kapa haka, thought the world of Te Reo Māori. If we do this, we won't inherit the problems to do with car break ins and ram raiding.

'We've got seven kids here with us in our youth residences who are all ram raiders. The way we get through to them is get them connected to their culture, because they're flying solo, they don't know where they belong, and then they react the way they react.

'Locking them up is like Nancy Reagan's 'just say no” to drugs. It's ridiculous. If we want to help these kids we need to get them reconnected, not just lock them up.”

People aged 10-14 were not always the most likely culprits, according to the police database. Photo: John Borren.

From January 2020 to January 2023, there have been 48 offences by people aged 10-14 who have stolen vehicle parts or contents, according to the police proceedings database.

The next highest category, people aged between 15 and 19, comes in at 33 offences within this time frame.

The statistic may be surprising to some, but Tauranga Police area prevention manager Zane Smith says it can be influenced by the number of offences attributed to an individual young person.

'For example, if an individual commits multiple offences, it can give the impression there are more offenders in a particular age category,” says Zane.

Repeat offenders or not, Zane adds the number of offenders aged 10-14 years dealt with by police has been 'relatively consistent” over the last three years.

From the earliest point on the website, July 2014 to July 2019, car break ins were mostly done by people aged 15 to 19 in the Bay of Plenty. Within this period, there were 161 offences by 15 to 19 year olds, and 123 offences by 10 to 14 year olds.

Comparing this to today, the most likely offender is now one to nine years younger – and could be as young as primary school age.