Police nab children for theft

Two young serial offenders were arrested on Thursday after stealing from unlocked cars in Kuripuni.

Sergeant Mike Sutton said the two boys, aged 12 and 15, were known to police for previous thefts. "There are certainly a number of occasions that they've been involved with the police.

"Mostly [for] theft or damage of property," Mr Sutton said.

He said police were concerned about the young ages of the offenders, particularly the 12-year-old.

"I know that the police and other agencies are working with these families to support them and try and work out what is the cause of their offending so we can put some sort of prevention around that to stop it happening in the future," he said.

The pair were arrested in Renall St at about 7.30pm after being tracked by police dogs.

A property owner with a CCTV camera also helped police locate the offenders.

"They've also gone on to a residential property and the property owner happened to have ... cameras on their property which has alerted them to the fact that these boys are there. Police were then able to view that footage which assisted us [with] locating the boys," he said.

Mr Sutton said the pair unlawfully entered two cars in Patea Place and stole property. He was unsure what was taken.

Another member of the public helped police by giving a description of the boys.

"That information that was given just filled that gap to where those boys had gone to. It was a reasonable distance [from where] they'd walked to where they were located."

He said the fact that the cars were left unlocked made it "a lot easier for them".

"Just a reminder to people to make sure they secure their vehicles. Just make it that little bit harder for them."

The boys were taken into police custody and the stolen property was recovered.

They have been referred to Youth Aid again.