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.

A spate of quad bike thefts in Waikato has come earlier than expected this year.

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

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.

A manager of one of Auckland's top hotels has appeared in court accused of stealing more than $118,000 from the hotel's management company.

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.

Police believe offenders responsible for a spate of rural mail thefts targeting North Canterbury residents are from the North Island.

A man who lost his smartphone managed to track it down by remotely installing software which allowed him to find who was using it.

A shopowner shot in an armed robbery has told how the gunman pointed a weapon at his head and demanded cash after shooting his wife under her arm.