Twenty people have been arrested following an operation targeting crimes including burglary and theft.

A Kaitaia tutor accused of preying on a young schoolgirl is due to appear in court this afternoon.

A Kaitaia man accused of murdering a 28-year-old woman during a road vehicle incident on Tuesday will defend the charge.

The name of the woman who died after being hit by a car in Kaitaia last night has been released by police.

Police are treating the death of a woman who was run over by a vehicle near Kaitaia this morning as a homicide.

Kaitaia's senior police officer has praised the response of Te Rangi Aniwaniwa whanau after 10 female students were attacked by drunken youths in Kaitaia's main street.

Fathers will patrol Kaitaia streets and a community hui will be held to make the town safer after 10 teenage girls were attacked by at least 20 drunk young people.

A garage, a ute and a fishing launch have been destroyed in two fires in the Far North.

In Kaitaia, get sand between your toes and see the sights, says Elisabeth Easther.

More than 200 people marched through Kaitaia calling for an end to child abuse and to show their town should not be judged by events unfolding in court, where convicted paedophile James Parker was due to be sentenced today.

A dispute over buildings on Maori-owned land near Kaitaia left a man dead, who took a chainsaw to one of the structures, and one of his relatives charged with his manslaughter.

A prominent Kaitaia businessman facing multiple counts of sexually abusing young boys is expected to deny the charges, his lawyer says.

Two German tourists were robbed and one bashed in an early morning attack when two men smashed the windows of their van and demanded money.

A stranger's speedy action saved the life of a toddler who slipped off the pontoon at Mangonui wharf and "sank like a stone".

Jen Whittington has done all she can to find her friend, 42-year-old Aucklander Anna Louise Hynes, and now all she can do now is hope.

Two Czech Republic nationals ran for their lives yesterday morning after they were allegedly confronted by a 47-year-old man armed with a rifle.

A man who murdered an Auckland man with a thistle grubber has been jailed for life with a non-parole period of 21 years.

A High Court jury trial was interrupted but not aborted despite comments directed at some of the jurors outside the Whangarei courts.

A 37-year-old Kaitaia man charged with 17 sexual offences, mostly against juvenile boys, has lost suppression and can now be named.

A Kaitaia businessman befriended boys in the community before allegedly sexually offending against them, in the third similar case to hit Northland.

A mother has escaped a prison sentence for an "orchestrated campaign of abuse and neglect" against her preschool-age child.

Editorial: It is hardly surprisingly that many state-house tenants in Glen Innes are angry about being asked to leave homes they have inhabited for years.

Wayne Bracken was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering Jack Davis in 2011. But co-accused Neville Dangen, 24 was found not guilty of the same charges.

Armed police are still hunting for a fugitive believed to be roaming Far North bush with a rifle, and have asked for help from the public to help find him.