Internal Affairs Minister and Napier MP Chris Tremain has requested a report into how a British killer managed to obtain a New Zealand passport issued in the name of a severely brain-damaged Hastings man.

A brazen thief distracted staff and stole money from a young Greytown boy's fundraiser for his sick grandfather.

Like all the best fabled morality tales this one begins in a walk-in wardrobe.

Police are defending a decision to ask the family of a Christchurch handbag theft victim to organise security camera footage in a bid to identify the offender.

A teacher at a childcare centre has been censured after she was caught on camera stealing food from the lunchboxes of her pupils.

A former North Island mayor has applied for the High Court to dismiss some of the charges he is facing in a Serious Fraud Office case.

A Hawkes Bay teacher with a conviction for aggravated robbery has pleaded guilty to stealing a pair of sunglasses.

A letter full of contrition sent to Tauranga police has proven that not all criminals are without a conscience.

A Masterton teen who stole thousands of dollars worth of property and cash while working as a waitress at a wedding has been ordered to pay reparations.

The masked and armed intruders who terrorised a West Coast couple last week had targeted their victims, police revealed today.

Offers of help have been flooding in for the Foster family who had all their firewood stolen while spending what is likely to be their last holiday together.

Teenagers as young as 14 are arming themselves with air pistols to rob dairies and service stations around Christchurch - a trend that worries police.

A 90-year-old woman had more than $27,000 stolen from her bank accounts by a man who tricked his way into her home posing as a Telecom maintenance worker.

The general manager of one of Auckland's top hotels has described the sentencing of one of his senior staff members as a "slap on the wrist".