One of the most affected victims of the trending bike and scooter thefts across the island, who has lost six bikes through thefts, is calling for voluntary community policing to be re-introduced.

Since March this year, Polynesian Rentals has lost six of its motorbikes when they were on hire. Two of these motorbikes were recovered but they were found damaged, and one was found dumped about 300 metres from where it was originally parked.

These bikes, costing between $3000 and $5000 each, have caused significant losses to the company, as the person who rented them only has to pay $500 in compensation.

Polynesian Rentals general manager Arthur Pickering emphasised that aside from spreading awareness, the only way to overcome this ongoing theft affecting many is to revitalise community-led voluntary policing, which had a great impact before the Covid pandemic.

“That whole method really worked well because I believe that this other side of the island from Muri to Titikaveka is a tourism golden basket where all the accommodations are located and where most tourists are targeted,” Pickering told Cook Islands News.

“So that set-up needs to be reintroduced and it’s not going to be easy because they don’t have the force at the police station but they need to look at ways on how they can activate that again.”

Polynesian Rentals calls for community policing in the tourism hub areas of Muri and Titikaveka comes weeks after Ngatangiia MP Tukaka Ama revealed there were plans to revive the Muri police post due to increasing crime and theft in the communities.

Prior to Covid-19, there were several groups of volunteers from the communities who were assisting the police mainly stationed in Muri, Titikaveka, and Arorangi, patrolling the roads early mornings and nights which is believed to have controlled the theft cases then.

Pickering explained that when it stopped due to uncertified conditions of the volunteers, crimes, especially thefts, started growing again.

“The fact is, these things start at home so it’s something that the society can help with. We can’t stop it but we can try and control it,” he said.

“These group of volunteers did a lot of work to assist with these matters and for some reason that came to a stop and when it did now all these (thefts) are starting again.

“(When they were) there on the road doing the early nights and early mornings patrolling the roads, any juveniles around, they’ll pull their bikes with them because they’re stolen vehicles and any drunken people on the bikes, they pull them over and take their vehicles and it was all about safety in their own communities.

“Now, that whole voluntary group is defunct because I believe, from what I was told, that they are legally not certified to do that under the law. The law is good but sometimes when you try and protect the community, the law then plays its part and because of that, they’re not empowered. They’re not actual policemen but volunteers helping the police and the community at large so because of the law, they were told they can’t do that kind of work.”

The issue of community policing was discussed in the June Parliament sitting after the Cook Islands Police revealed in May that they were understaffed by 30-40 officers.

Prime Minister Mark Brown, who is also the Minister for Police, committed to the re-establishment of community police to tackle the rising crime rate in Rarotonga.

Brown said that he would hold meetings with the Members of Parliament from Puaikura and Takitumu to see how the community police can begin as soon as possible.