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.

A man told police he had no idea how $5000 came to be deposited in his Kiwibank account but he had spent most of it, the Dunedin District Court heard yesterday.

New Zealanders lost more than $4.4 million to internet scams in the last year as cyber criminals became better organised, more resourceful and turned to blackmail.

A lawyer struck off over accusations of stealing nearly $3 million from clients has had 33 criminal charges laid against him.

Three young people could be heard urging a terrified man to come outside and talk to them before they smashed their way into his home and killed a 12-week-old puppy.

A mother of four who burgled her neighbour's home has been given community work and a stern telling off for her actions.

Just when crime, Cote d'Azur style, was beginning to look a little low-rent, along comes a big, old-fashioned jewellery heist to restore the louche glamour.

Three teenagers have been referred to the police youth aid service in relation to a brazen theft from a Wellington cafe after Sunday's magnitude 6.5 earthquake.

Thieves have found a new way to steal petrol and have been targeting cars in upmarket Auckland areas in a month-long crime wave.

A Wellington cafe which was struck by brazen thieves after the magnitude 6.5 earthquake has been flooded with messages, calls and emails about the "low-life" offenders.

Brazen thieves made off with a safe containing cash from a cafe in one of Wellington's landmark downtown buildings.