A North Dunedin dairy was robbed by two knife-wielding offenders early this morning.

A "prolific" 12-year-old burglar is terrorising a Napier suburb, say police.

A "bold and outrageous" cattle rustling case has divided a rural community north of Auckland.

A former Tauranga businessman who siphoned $317,000 from a motorbike dealership was motivated by "greed, greed and more greed'', a judge has said.

Burglars have stolen a valuable computer and software from a Featherston man struck down with motor neuron disease.

An art gallery owner who had a quilt stolen by an elderly English tourist says he can't believe she has left the country without being charged - or saying sorry.

A good Samaritan was punched in the face and had his car stolen after assisting a man to escape a gang fight in Dunedin, police say.

The 75-year-old English woman who stole a quilt which was on display at the Lakes District Museum in Arrowtown told police she put it in a rubbish bin after taking it.

The woman who stole an art work in a brazen theft from the Lakes District Museum in Arrowtown was arrested last night in Te Anau.

Police are hunting a woman dressed in a large overcoat who strode into the Lakes Districts Museum and stole a large silk kimono.

Stealing number plates in West Auckland will be much harder for thieves as police work their way around carparks fitting vehicles with security screws.

The burglary of the Karoro Learning Centre by two imports from Christchurch was an "inside job," the Greymouth District Court has heard.

Police have arrested a suspected burglar - after a service station owner went public and complained to The Star that he had to do his own detective work.

A Facebook page set up to name and shame Rotorua shoplifters with personal photos has been set up and taken down - but not without hundreds seeing it first.

A pair of British tourists who lost up to $16,000 worth of their possessions when their van was stolen in Taupo have been overwhelmed by local generosity.

A couple is angry they had to catch a suspected burglar because police wouldn't respond quickly enough to a break-in at their home.

Crimes such as house burglaries and theft have decreased while fraud and identity theft have risen, as criminals match their skills with improving technology, a criminologists says.