Three pairs of German tourists are questioning New Zealand's good reputation after having their campervans broken into and thousands of dollars worth of items stolen.

A Tauranga man has been sentenced to three years and four months in jail for kidnapping and bashing a man who had just accidentally killed his 18-year-old friend.

A former Central Otago goldmine worker has admitted stealing gold-bearing sand, which police later found in a plastic lunchbox at his home.

A man arrested for stealing a police patrol car over the weekend has admitted he didn't realise what type of vehicle it was - despite its flashing light.

New Zealand sheep have become a prime target for rustlers over the British summer.

The key suspect in an aggravated bank robbery in central Auckland yesterday is still on the run.

A fake plastic gun used in an armed bank robbery this morning was found discarded with a jacket in a bar toilet near the scene of the crime.

Former Rockforte Finance director John Patrick Gardner has plead guilty to five Crimes Act charges in the High Court at Gisborne today.

A woman who stole more than $450,000 from a prominent Auckland couple has been sent to prison for three years and four months.

A serial fraudster who worked as a prostitute while on home detention has today been jailed for two years, six months.

An acclaimed art dealer has been cleared of allegations he stole valuable paintings from a top New Zealand artist.

Hugh Foster faces an eight-week hospital stay after two alleged bank robbers in a stolen car smashed into the back of his ute on the Southern Motorway.

I've never been a burglar (breaking into a building to commit a crime) or a robber (nicking something while using violence or the threat of violence to do so).

A jury is deciding whether a Christchurch drilling boss who detained two thieves caught siphoning fuel did so legally and with reasonable force.

Christchurch jurors waiting for a trial to begin are rudely interrupted by a woman who burst into the jury room and locked herself in the toilet.