Martinborough's vigilantes have disbanded and the burglars are back.
About 40 people formed the controversial community group, patrolling the town at night after a spate of burglaries in the Wairarapa town in April.
A violent clash with youths saw the group hit headlines and get offside with police before they called it quits at the end of May.
However, residents say the town is once again under siege from criminals and are calling for the groups return.
Winifred Bull, 63, told the Wairarapa Times-Age she and four neighbours were burgled in a single evening last week.
"I don't feel safe. I knew about the huge number of burglaries earlier this year and thought the night patrol had solved the problem.
"But we were given a false sense of security. The burglars never went away.
"I would really like to see the night patrol back on the beat because incidents like this don't really merit police attention. There is only one officer but there's also a definite 'underbelly' in our town."
That same night neighbour's Peter Croft and Glenys Hansen both had wallets and cash stolen from their cars.
"The problem is getting through to police," Ms Hansen said.
"I've been here since 1964 and old-style policing just doesn't work anymore. That time is gone. We need at least one full-time officer here around the clock."
She said the night patrols were needed, at least as a "stopgap" until the town was cleaned up.
The group's co-founder Trevor Hawkins would not comment on whether the citizens' call would be answered. He said some former members were joining a police-sanctioned weekend patrol.
