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.

John Key went to meet Hollywood bosses with a briefing from officials saying studios were looking for easier ways to target Kiwi who downloaded illegally.

The teenager who stole an 82-year-old's car has been sentenced to five months' home detention.

A Far North benefit fraudster has agreed to repay nearly $100,000 but it will take him nearly 200 years.

Thieves have netted thousands of dollars in a scam targeting rural people who use their mailboxes to send cheques.

Two people who stole a charity donation box from a Hastings petrol station have been described as the "lowest of the low" by police.

A man considered too dangerous for Australia and deported to New Zealand is now facing serious charges over an alleged home invasion.

One of the fashionably famous Crane Brothers has been charged with stealing $97,000 worth of jewellery from a boutique store he used to own.

When serial con-man David Nepia Carroll needed money, it seemed nothing was off-limits, not even children's piggy banks.

Piri Weepu All Black Piri Weepu went online to vent his anger after thieves broke into his car and stole his iPhone while he was out diving.

Thieves stole dozens of boogie boards from a tour bus that got bogged down in sand on Ninety Mile Beach at the weekend.

Poachers and stock rustlers are being warned by Federated Farmers to find a different line of work.

A spate of attacks on older people over the holiday period has been described as "the most feral form" of behaviour in society - but not an indication of a new social trend.