Far North police boxing clever with burglary busts

A new policing team, charged with nipping crime in the bud, has scored some impressive results, including the busting of what Kerikeri-based Far North prevention officer Senior Sergeant Chris McLellan described as burglary rings in Kaitaia and the Hokianga.

The Mid and Far North area prevention team pulls together five police constables from Kaitaia, Kaikohe and the Bay of Islands.

Unlike other police teams they can be assembled and deployed at short notice, with their shifts and locations changed day-to-day, depending on need or the latest crime hotspots.

Senior Sergeant McLellan said in its first week the team arrested a youth and a 21-year-old man, who were allegedly responsible for a spate of burglaries in Kaitaia. The older man was facing 10 charges of burglary as well as other dishonesty offences.

The team followed that up last week with the arrests of two members of a group who had allegedly been burgling homes in the Omapere area. The suspected ringleader, a 22-year-old living in Dargaville, was being held in custody while a 17-year-old was on 24-hour curfew at his home in Kaikohe.

Charges included burglary, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle and possession of instruments for taking methamphetamine.

Senior Sergeant McLellan said the new team, and Rawene police, were tracking down the group's remaining members. Some of the stolen property had been recovered in a search of two properties, including a motorbike located in Kerikeri.

The area prevention team also aimed to help victims of family violence avoid becoming re-victimised, and to work with businesses to prevent crime through better security and design.

"The team's five members have been redeployed from other policing areas, as part of a shift to more proactive policing rather than simply reacting to crime," he added.