Ski season brings the best and worst tourist to our shores.
Unfortunately the snow brings the “snow bums†that live on a dime, dine on instant noodles and live in overcrowded rental accommodation no better than a London squat. Some live in cars and many seek temporary employment in the retail and hospitality industries. Others stay as long as their money last while an increasing under class attempt to subsidise their travel costs with the well worn art of fraudulent claims on their travel insurance.
Police in Queenstown report a steady stream of complainants filing theft reports. Many claiming stolen laptops, cameras and snow boards. (you will note that I did not mention skis)
Police are accustom to people lying , it is part of their job to seek the facts or the truth. It therefore takes a very skilled performer to make a false complaint while being subtly questioned as to the circumstances of the loss.
Suspected false complainants are often met by police at the airport departure check-in carrying the stolen snowboard or at the gate with the missing laptop.
Apart from the waste of police resources, the real problem here is the inference on the crime perception of New Zealand as a safe destination. Queenstown police have caught ten tourist making false claims in the last two weeks but many more are not caught. The nationality of last weeks catch was reported to be Australian and British.