Editorial: Tougher stance on burglars

As the weather warms and the light increases, so it begins.

In winter, I am generally more lax when it comes to personal security, because I figure when it is cold, there are fewer miscreants hanging around waiting to break into my car. It's too cold for them to go out, I figure. They're at home smoking dope and playing X-box.

I need to starting being more vigilant, obviously.

A school, a butchery and two homes were burgled at the weekend.

The burglary at Tui Butchers on Kamo Rd, Kensington has led to two juveniles, one male aged 15 and a 16-year-old female, being arrested.

Tikipunga High School was also broken into and a projector and three cameras stolen.

The intruders also unsuccessfully tried to pull a flat screen TV off the wall.

It is the second time in two months that the school has been targeted - a TV was stolen earlier from the same classroom.

Schools don't need this sort of grief. Businesses don't need this sort of grief.

And home owners certainly don't.

All at a time as we look into claims made to this paper that thieves stole a man's death bed, within days of his passing away.

Sectors of our judiciary nationally are under pressure over what the public say are light sentences - there's no evidence of that here in Northland. But as the weather warms let's hope that our judges' gavels resound heavily when it comes to burglaries.

Times are tough, and community tolerance is low.