A spate of crimes in Hamilton has left residents frustrated and on edge, with one local saying “we don’t feel safe” after a major police incident this morning.

A group of car thieves are accused of fleeing police and leading them on a chase through the city today, nearly crashing into innocent motorists as they sped around.

The Herald has approached police for comment. A spokesman said they would detail the situation in a press release later today.

One Hamilton resident told the Herald police spotted a vehicle of interest, suspected of being stolen and used to allegedly commit other crimes.

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Police did not initially chase the car, but their Eagle helicopter was overhead, the resident said.

The Eagle spotted the car in Hamilton East, she said. It tracked the car driving around the rest of the city.

“There were a few close calls, accident-wise, due to the high speed of the vehicle,” the woman claimed.

“Members of the public also tried to intervene.”

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Police deployed road spikes multiple times, but the vehicle managed to dodge them, she said.

The car was successfully spiked on Kahikatea Dr.

The driver continued with police in pursuit, the woman said.

A low-speed chase continued until the driver stopped on Karen Cr, she said.

She understood four youths were then arrested.

“We need help here. It’s terrible. We don’t feel safe,” the woman said.

Meanwhile, a post on a local community page, the Hamilton Crime and Information Admin, encouraged people to report any suspicious activity and stay away from any offenders in case they got hurt.

“We also would like to thank the Waikato Police who have been doing an amazing job,” the post read.

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It follows the arrests of four other youths after an alleged carjacking in Hamilton yesterday.

The group were said to have fled police before officers spiked the car. Police claimed the four teens tried to escape on foot with the machete-wielding driver allegedly attempting to carjack a member of the public’s vehicle but was unsuccessful.

After arresting all four, police said officers found knives, machetes and balaclavas. The police statement said inquiries were ongoing to establish whether the teens were tied to other car thefts and aggravated robberies over recent days.

The Herald confirmed yesterday that two of the four youths had absconded from the Government’s bootcamp trial and were found as police responded to the serious incident.

The two teenagers who went missing from the bootcamp were revealed on Thursday. It came days after another participant in the military-style academy died in a car accident.

One of the teens who absconded did so while on leave to attend the crash victim’s tangi. The second teen who absconded did so while on “community placement” with their family.