A few months ago a number of vehicles in a local town were burgled - they weren’t locked and were parked in the driveway of their owners’ homes overnight. 

Since then I have heard a number of people say “this place is changing” and mumble that crime is on the rise. 

I had a conversation with someone the other day over whether or not to lock your car and home when you duck away from it. They insisted they never had to growing up and times had changed and they now feel forced to lock their doors. Something they were a little bitter about. 

It got me thinking, I also never locked my house growing up in Australia, as my parents never did. Have things changed? 

Their argument was that “times have changed” and the area has changed. 

My counter argument was that we are in fact living in the safest period of human history.

Now, you may say you hear a lot of bad stuff, and I’ll admit the media plays its role in that. 

I can guarantee you the bad news (crime, COVID, war etc) is read many, many times more than the good stuff (whatever that could be). 

This is because people get emotionally triggered by bad news and are more likely to share it - either online or verbally over a pint at the pub. 

So, much of what we hear is skewed to the bad. 

Another aspect of this is that communication is now more efficient, and amplified, than ever before. 

Police have a whole media team who keep in contact with journalists to let them know what is happening. 

If Barry down the road hears something bad, he’ll post it on social media in a heartbeat. He is much, much more unlikely to do so if he hears something good. 

Trust me. Central Otago has social media “whinge” pages but it doesn’t have any social media pages dedicated to positive stuff.

Sometimes it is best not to be like Barry - for your own mental health and everyone else's.

But the facts are that society is safer than it has been in any other time in history. 

We don’t have marauding vikings raiding our towns, or bandits lurking in the woods. Murder is extremely down.

We don’t have rampaging foreign armies sweeping through or high levels of unemployment, or extreme drug or alcohol abuse.

Cars were burgled in Cromwell a few months ago, with the majority of them left unlocked. Photo Pixabay.

The signs point to this golden period of safety solving world hunger, with less deaths due to warfare, and perhaps most importantly - growing economic stability. 

I argued to my friend the three things we can do to remain safe is lock our houses and cars, wash our hands and keep the economy ticking along nicely. 

It’s a “give a man a fish he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime” kind of thing. He didn’t quite get it. 

But still, personally as an adult, I always lock my car and home because I see it as the simplest measure to stop crime. 

It only takes one burglary to ruin your views of things. 

My friends told me he used to have trust in society but now he has been forced to lock his doors. 

I fully understood and agreed, but maintained my stance that I believe the world is safer than it ever has been and it has always been prudent to lock your doors. 

Senior Sergeant Clinton Wright said dishonesty offences such as burglary and theft are usually crimes of opportunity. 

He said if you secure your property, in many cases an offender will move on. 

“For example, there have been times in a number of towns over the years, including locally, where over a night, offenders have interfered with cars - the cars targeted were unlocked and parked in driveways, which made them very easy for the thieves to access. 

“Police would advise people to lock their doors with good quality locks and lock their cars wherever they live in New Zealand. No community is completely crime-free. 

“It's also a good idea to keep your valuables away from windows and out of sight, and keep bushes and hedges trimmed so burglars don't have anywhere to hide. 

“Look out for your neighbours, too - you can help them out when they go away by taking in their mail and mowing their lawn, and if you connect with your wider neighbourhood it helps everyone know what's going on in the community so they can keep an eye out.” 

Leaving your home or car unlocked is like an open invitation. Whoever might accept that invitation could be a local or even someone passing through the area.

I’ve lived in several major cities and I’ve had my car rummaged through and my doors tested by would-be burglars during the night. 

I grew up in a rough neighbourhood which is now one of the most surveillanced cities on Earth. 

Fortunately, the majority of opportunistic burglars don’t want too much hassle and unless they know you have some solid gold in your house, they won’t go further than testing your door knob, they’ll find it’s locked, and move on. 

The easiest prevention is always locking your home and car, and hiding valuables and ensuring they are out of sight. 

Central Otago is still one of the safest places to live on Earth and you should have always locked your doors. 

Has Central Otago changed? Do you lock your doors at night? Feel free to email us at [email protected] and tell us your thoughts on what has changed about Central Otago socially, or share any news, opinions or letters to the editor.

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