More than 130 people have been arrested or charged and almost 100 vehicles
and dirt bikes have been impounded, following a year-long operation by
Counties Manukau Police targeting dirt bike and illegal street racing
activity.
Operation Whakatika was launched at the beginning of 2021 to investigate
reported offending on the roads by dirt bike riders and illegal street
racers.
Throughout the year the Counties Manukau District Prevention Unit has been
following up reports of dirt bike and street racing offending, investigating
complaints and obtaining evidence to identify and locate offending drivers
and riders with the aim of prosecuting or fining those involved and
impounding their vehicles and bikes.
As a result of 12 month of dedicated work targeting these offenders, 59 dirt
bikes have been impounded and 39 vehicles have been impounded.
88 people have been arrested or charged in relation to dirt bike activity,
with 44 arrests or charges laid in connection to illegal street racing
activity for offences such as dangerous driving and sustained loss of
traction.
169 infringement notices have also been issued for dirt bike activity and 579
infringements were issued by the unit for illegal street racing. Almost 2,500
vehicles were stopped and inspected over the year as part of the operation.
Inspector Jared Pirret, Counties Manukau District Prevention Manager, says
the team of officers working on Operation Whakatika have done an outstanding
job of identifying and taking follow up action against offending riders and
drivers.
“We know that our community get frustrated at the dangerous and often
brazen antics by dirt bike riders and street racers.
“Often when Police are notified at the time to these types of reports, we
are not in a position to immediately intervene as it creates significant
safety risks for those involved as well as other innocent road users.
“While we may not be able to take immediate action at the time for safety
reasons, we want to reassure the community that we do take this offending
seriously and we have a team working hard to identify and locate offenders
and impound their bikes or vehicles.
“Our results speak for themselves, and we want this to be a message to dirt
bike riders and illegal street racers causing issues on our roads – we will
keep investigating those involved, impounding your vehicles and bikes and
issuing fines or prosecuting you.”
As a result of enquiries into dirt bike riders, Police also recovered 25
stolen vehicles. Three riders had their licences suspended and 53 riders were
forbidden from riding.
In relation to illegal street racing activity, 23 vehicles were
pink-stickered and ordered off the road as they were deemed unsafe, while 79
vehicles were green-stickered and deemed non-compliant.
“While we are very pleased with the results to date, we continue to receive
complaints in relation to dirt bike riders and street racers and we will
continue to investigate offending on our roads, impound vehicles and
prosecute where necessary,” says Inspector Pirret.