Welcome to Police Patrol, the Southland App's very first round-up of selected recent incidents attended by our Southland Police team.

Roadside sign vandals on rampage in the south

Southland Police are on the hunt for roadside sign vandals with dozens more signs run over and badly damaged, causing serious concerns that someone could be badly injured or killed.

Vandalism, theft and destruction of signs is a growing problem that’s plagued the Southland District Council for some time, costing ratepayers more than $100,000 a year – almost $240,000 from 1 January 2023, until 24 October last year, according to a recent report.

Senior Sergeant Peter Graham says in the latest hit vandals ran over the main Browns township sign, 35 minutes out of Winton, just after midnight, flattening and destroying it on 11 January.

The sign landed well off the roadside and Police want to hear from anyone who may have spotted a 4WD ute in the area about that time.

“We’ve had a huge number of signs run over recently and we’re looking for any information that can help us identify the culprits as anyone caught responsible can face charges of wilful damage,” he says.

Southland District council strategic manager transport Hartley Hare says the signs are usually knocked down and it’s very concerning that many of these are roadside ‘Stop’ and ‘Give Way’ signs, kerbside speed advisories to slow around dangerous corners.

While a small proportion could be damaged during accidents, the rest are likely to be intentional.

Occasionally the vandalism is localised, suggesting a small number of perpetrators are responsible, he says.

By early last year 192 roadside signposts were vandalised and broken in the Northern Southland area within 10 months, he says.

More than a dozen signs were vandalised within a 24-hour period last year around Balfour and Waikaia.

“We know of signs that are missing or obscured elsewhere in New Zealand and that’s led to road crashes.”

While it’s increasingly difficult to catch the perpetrators with so few witnesses in rural areas, particularly at night, he’s urging people to contact Police on 105 if they see this vandalism occurring or have information.

Elderly man poisoning trees

Police apprehended a 76-year-old local man, who’d allegedly been poisoning trees on public land in Clifden, near Tuatapere.

Graham says the man had allegedly been drilling holes in the trees then pouring weedkiller inside to kill them.

He was warned that that was wilful damage but not charged. His motive was unknown.

Winton firefighters assist Hokonui rescue

Six Winton Fire Brigade volunteers came to the rescue after the Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter was called to retrieve an 80-year-old local woman with an ankle injury from the Hokonui hills just before 4pm on 22 January.

St John Ambulance also attended, and Winton chief fire officer Scott Glover says the woman was airlifted to Southland Hospital in a moderate condition.

She and her 85-year-old husband had been on a day bush hike on the narrow, single lane Makarewa Falls track when she had an accident earlier in the day.

Glover says her elderly husband had tried to assist her until he realised it was too much and rang 111.

“They said they hadn’t wanted to inconvenience us. Fortunately he discovered a tiny 2m pocket of phone reception around a particular tree,” Glover says.

“We had no idea where she was but fortunately, we found her on the track and set up a helicopter landing pad in the bush while we walked the husband out.”

Use technology to keep you safe

Southland Police are urging people to, where possible, make use of technology that will help keep them safe whether driving or enjoying the outdoors.

While there was a tragic outcome in the fatal single-vehicle crash at Fairlight, near Kingston, last Thursday (30 January), Police say they were alerted to the crash by an automated crash detection alert from the 29-year-old Queenstown driver’s cellphone, which gave them a location.

“Those alerts are very helpful in assisting to keep people safe and if they have the opportunity or ability to use them, they should,” Southland Acting Area Prevention Manager Stu Harvey says.

“Any technology that looks after people’s safety should be utilised as much as possible.”

SAR callouts down as outdoor adventurers heed warnings

Most hikers and climbers have been doing the right things in the south so far this summer, Aviation SAR spokesman and Southern Lakes helicopters crewman Richie Hunter says.

“It’s been very quiet. People have been checking the forecast and taking the right gear, preparing well for their trips, so perhaps that’s why we’ve been receiving less callouts,” Hunter says.

People also appear to be much more aware of the need to take PLBs (personal locator beacons) with them.

“They appear to be doing their research on the trails that they’re undertaking and looking after each other in the outdoors, which is a good recipe for success,” Hunter says.

Skilled scammers target the elderly and vulnerable

Skilled scammers continue to target elderly in Southland ripping them off for thousands of dollars by phoning or emailing from convincing addresses and posing as bank staff or Police.

Senior Sergeant Gary Iddenten says it’s a growing problem and the scammers are picking on people at their most vulnerable times using clever and manipulative techniques to convince them to give out their bank account details or hand over money.

“It is a problem we continue to see in our region,” Iddenten says. “People pick the phone up and take these people at face value.

Always remember if it’s too good to be true then don’t entertain it,” he says.

“If you have any doubts or suspicions, always contact your bank first and check. Never give out your passwords or details over the phone."

“If you are able to do so, always go and view an item in person before you buy or pay for it.”

Other scammers call saying they’re a detective, and once they get a conversation going, they ask for personal account details, however, they mostly use emails and letters.

“They can be quite plausible.”

In one instance, someone was asked to put money into a book as the person was going out of the country.

Unexplained fire

Police investigated an unexplained fire that occurred at a Churchill Street house in Gore on Sunday, 26 January, around 10am.

Iddenten says the fire caused extensive damage and Fire and Emergency had taken over inquiries.

Dob in drunk drivers!

Remember to report any suspected drunk drivers on *555.

“Plan your trips ahead as the consequences can be fatal,” Iddenten says.