The St Bathans community is becoming increasingly frustrated as petty crime has increased in the small village in recent months. 

Helena Raymond, from the St Bathans Area Community Association, said buildings have been vandalised and thefts have occurred in the historic town. 

“So far it appears as though a group of taggers returned last week, they have been frequently vandalising the area since July 2019,” she told The Central App. 

“They vandalised a number of farm sheds and private buildings coming into the St Bathans Village; there are photos of these in the comments on the Omakau and Ophir and Becks Bulletin Facebook pages. The community is extremely aggravated by the careless damage. 

“There has been an increase in reckless behaviour in the area over the past six months. The Old White Horse Hotel had its water tank stolen, there have been burnouts and car racing along the St Bathans- Becks Loop Road. 

“Donations were stolen from the St Bathans domain and 4WDs and trial bikes have been used to damage the cliff faces at the Blue Lake. 

“The Post Office, reopened as a community centre/museum over summer, has also been broken into several times since December with artifacts stolen.”

In the past few weeks, graffiti has been painted onto the lakeside toilets in St Bathans.

Recent tagging is just one of the instances of graffiti the Department of Conservation (DoC) and the St Bathans Area Community Association (SBACA) have had to deal with. 

“DoC has done an amazing job to remove the graffiti from the mining relics at the lake,” Helena said. “The lakeside toilets are managed by the Association. 

“We will have to organise volunteers to reattach the changing room doors, remove the graffiti and repaint the building, which will have to come from the money we raise through different fundraisers. 

“We have addressed many concerns with this type of anti-social behaviour happening at the Blue Lake reserve and have asked DoC to look at measures to counteract these instances. 

“We have recently applied for funding from the CODC to enhance the area and put measures in place to mitigate these risks. Ideas have included closing the access road overnight, to discourage vehicles accessing and damaging the cliff faces, yet still allow cyclists, equestrians and walkers to access the areas.”

Helena said the increase in tourism had caused isolated areas such as St Bathans to suffer, which she said has been due to limited resources with no support offered in spite of many requests made to Council. 

“DoC however have been proactive in assisting SBACA and we are currently negotiating a contract that would cater for a caretaker position to be created. 

“This would allow for a person(s) to be present in maintaining several areas in the Village; this position will work hand in hand with the community centre. 

“The position would manage and mitigate this unwanted behaviour by providing feedback and documentation to allow for more resources to be sort from local and central government to deal with these on going issues. 

“The Police have been involved and instances reported. As there are a number of vacant holiday homes and building sites currently in St Bathans, it is unknown if any further thefts have occurred.”

Central Otago District mayor Tim Cadogan said people need to be vigilant, even in Central Otago.

“People often talk about how we didn’t need to lock our doors in Central but sadly those days are long behind us and unfortunately people need to do their bit to ensure the security of their property and of those around them, as well as broader community assets.

“Community vigilance is also crucial in assisting the Police in their role in protecting the community, so I urge St Bathan’s people to be especially aware of people around them while this current apparent spate is happening and to advise Police of anything that may help in ending what is going on.”

A CODC spokesperson said there was a pending application for a community grant from St Bathans Area Community Association for beautification of the area (4x picnic tables, planting shelter belt trees, landscaping the area with rocks and posts, and signage).

Work on grant applications had been put on hold while staff were busy with Emergency Operations Centre duties during Alert Levels 4 and 3 and working through annual plan budgets.

Reports related to grant applications were likely to go to community board meetings in June and July.

A police spokesperson said they had received reports of graffiti on buildings by the lake at St Bathans on or about the 7 May. 

“Two other barns on St Bathans Loop Road reportedly had graffiti on them on or around the 7th May as well. These were not originally reported to Police but have since been recorded and we are investigating.

“There are a number of simple measures that can be taken to keep your property safe.”

Police offer the following advice to help keep your home and vehicles safe:

•        Lock your doors and windows

•        Record the serial numbers of expensive electronic items and photograph these and other valuables

•        Keep valuables out of sight

•        Install an alarm system, and get sensor lights fitted

•        Keep garden sheds and garages locked when not in use

•        Keep hedges or plants around doors and windows well-trimmed, don't give the burglar a place to hide

•        Join or form a neighbourhood support group.

“We urge anyone who sees anything suspicious to call 111.”