Electronic bail absconder still on the run

Para Hendriks

A Northland man police say should not be approached ran from his home, then ripped off his electronic monitoring anklet before continuing to run.

And it seems a month after breaching electronic bail Para Hendriks is still running from authorities. A month to the day after the 28-year-old absconded, Northland police released a photo of the wanted man yesterday.

It is believed Hendriks left the Opononi property where he was bailed to and was living with his partner on October 5, before he managed to rip off the electronic anklet 1.5km away on SH12.

A monitoring company was alerted and police were also called to the house. But he has since managed to evade police, who have issued a warrant for his arrest in relation to a serious assault over which he has been charged with injuring with intent to injure. Police say he has family and associates in Whangarei and believe he may be hiding out with them somewhere in Northland. Their advice is not to approach Hendriks if he is spotted, but to immediately call police. Hendriks is described as a male Maori of medium to solid build.

Electronic monitoring of offenders has generated heavy media coverage in recent months, with figures showing thousands of electronic monitoring breaches.

In September a man who sparked a police manhunt when he cut off his electronic monitoring bracelet and assaulted a security guard turned himself in to Whangarei police. Thomas Shortcliffe, who allegedly cut off his bracelet on August 29 while on bail at an Auckland house, walked into the Whangarei police station.

As part of the electronic bail monitoring process, a security guard went to the Papakura property Shortcliffe was bailed to when an alert was activated.

Police say Shortcliffe allegedly assaulted the guard and fled. The 44-year-old was on bail for charges that included kidnapping. And that escape came only days after another man, teenager Zane McVeigh, removed his bracelet in Wellington and fled.

A Department of Corrections spokesperson said the number of defendants being electronically monitored on bail who had removed their monitoring device had only just started to be recorded centrally.

As at September 16, there were six community-based offenders who had absconded while being monitored on a Corrections-administered sentence. At that time there were 3821 people subject to electronic monitoring.