Security Christchurch

Kapiti and Masterton Police have arrested a man in connection to a number of burglaries committed in Kapiti, Pukerua Bay and Masterton areas over the last two months.

Handbags and wallets were mainly targeted, giving the offender access to cash and bank cards, which were used at ATM machines to withdraw the victims’ money. The offender would usually discard the remaining property near the place he stole it.

The offender committed the offences during the hours of darkness, and was known to enter insecure addresses and vehicles to steal property while occupants were in the house.

The 40 year old Upper Hutt man appears in the Porirua District Court today charged with 11 burglaries. Further burglary and fraud charges will be laid at a later date.

At present, our justice system does not distinguish between the two types of offenders: victims of ongoing abuse who use responsive violence; and perpetrators of sustained and intentional abuse.

Imagine being arrested for trying to protect yourself or a child from assault. Would you ever risk calling for help in the future?

“The likelihood of a partner using violence against us depends largely on whether our partner is male or female,” says Deborah Mackenzie, Interagency Coordinator at shine* shine* researched all domestic violence arrests in Auckland City from April to September 2008 and found of all offenders arrested for domestic violence, 10% were women.”

“We often hear female offending is on the rise. Data from Auckland shows that this is not the case and men remain the predominant perpetrators of domestic violence against their female partners,” reports Deborah Mackenzie.

Just over half the females arrested in the six month period had offended against a male (ex) partner. Looking into the history of all the women who were arrested, Deborah Mackenzie discovered well over half of them had been the victim of abuse at the hands of their male partner, often enduring horrific abuse for many years. On the occasions they retaliated or used self defence to protect themselves they were arrested.

There were no women offending against a male (ex) partner scored by police as being high risk offenders. Furthermore 62% of the women were assessed by police as being of no apparent risk. In the majority of cases the male victims did not report feeling scared of their female partner.

Violence of any kind is not condoned at shine*, however, it is absolutely vital our community response to domestic violence recognizes there can be significant differences in the context, impact and intent behind the violence often largely influenced by the perpetrator’s gender.

Men and women in heterosexual relationships use violence in different ways and for different purposes. Often men’s use of violence is to have control and power over their female partner, whereas women are more likely to use violence against their male partner to protect themselves, or in retaliation or response to what they have experienced in the past.

At present our justice system does not distinguish between the two types of offenders: victims of ongoing abuse who use responsive violence; and perpetrators of sustained and intentional abuse.

Scenario: o You have called the police to protect yourself or a child from assault o You raise a chair to protect yourself or a child o The police arrive and you are arrested and charged with assault Would you ever take the risk of calling for help in the future?

Free National Helpline to assist callers with a range of professional support services including risk assessment, safety planning, information, advocacy and referrals

24 Hour professional crisis and advocacy support for child and adult victims of domestic violence _ Refuge accommodation on the North Shore, Auckland

Child Crisis Team – for children distressed by witnessing violence in their homes who are often also at risk of being assaulted themselves

No Excuses – a stopping violence programme to help educate men who use abusive and violent behaviour

Local inter-agency network coordination to ensure our services work together to keep people safe

Safe @ Home programme – to secure the homes of victims with replacement solid wood doors, window locks, security lighting and silent, personal alarm systems

Domestic violence awareness and professional training programmes – for volunteers, tertiary students, professionals (i.e. police, social workers, health professionals, teachers etc) and community groups

Workplace Trust & Support – programme that shows how to positively address bullying and domestic violence in the workplace

North Shore CIB have arrested two men aged 19 and 27 after recent robberies at two banks in suburban Birkenhead and Glenfield.

The men are appearing separately in the Whangarei and North Shore District Courts today for the robbery of the ANZ Bank in Glenfield on 3 June 2009, and the BNZ Bank in Birkenhead on 19 June 2009.

One offender was arrested by police in Whangarei on Friday night 3 July 2009 and the second offender was arrested in Birkdale on Saturday 4 July 2009.

Police say that the arrests were achieved as a result of excellent information received from members of the public. The penalty for robbery is ten years imprisonment.

A visiting South African rugby team must have felt they were on a hiding to nothing after first losing their match against the Chiefs and then having their hotel rooms burgled but some fast work by Hamilton Police saw the final whistle blown on the thief.

Several rooms occupied by the visiting Lions Super 14 team’s rooms were broken into on Saturday night with cash and personal property amongst items stolen.

Detective Sergeant Dave Grace said within an hour of being notified of the break-in detectives were banging on a suspect’s door with a search warrant in hand.

“A hotel staff member was identified as the person responsible for the theft and a search of his home resulted in the majority of items being recovered. Police received nothing other than excellent cooperation from the hotel company in this matter.

“We were able to affect a quick arrest in this case owing to the hotel’s existing security procedures at the hotel and the management’s relationship with Police.

Mr Grace said the Lions team had travelled to Auckland to prepare for their next match and were delighted to hear of the quick arrest and recovery of their property.

“Albeit the victims of crime the team’s spokesman said they were impressed with the speed of New Zealand’s Police and Hamilton detectives in particular,” said Mr Grace.

“We will return the team’s possessions over the next couple of days and we hope the prompt arrest of the thief goes someway to allaying any concerns they may have about Hamilton as a place to visit.”

A 23-year-old Hamilton student was bailed on a charge of burglary and further charges are likely.

William Stewart Has Not Been Located By Police At This Time.

William Stewart has not been located by Police at this time.

Police believe that Stewart was in the Lake Coleridge Village area on Thursday night 26 March and Friday morning.

Police also believe that Stewart was in the Hinds area on Sunday 29th March. Both these instances were as a result of possible sightings by members of the public.

Residents of rural Canterbury, including townships, are urged to ensure that they do not leave keys in vehicles or vehicles insecure, lock the house dooors and windows at night or when away from the house. He is committing burglaries in the rural areas on business premises and homes

It is believed Stewart is still in the possession of the 2008 model grey Toyota Hilux with wellside deck. The reg no. is ETU351.

Police urge any sightings of this vehicle or Stewart be reported IMMEDIATELY to Police by 111. Do not approach him. He is believed to be dangerous and unpredictable.

Police urge Stewart to give himself up either through his Lawyer or at any Police Station.

Daytime Burglaries In Central Christchurch

New Zealand Police Canterbury News Release

Christchurch Central police are concerned about the number of burglaries occurring during the day when the occupants are still at home.

Acting Senior Sergeant Philip Dean says that there has been a notable increase over the last three weeks of people having items stolen from within their houses while they have been in a different part of the house or in the garden.

In one incident the front door had been left open for the cat while occupants were upstairs; in another a backpack was taken through an open door.

Philip Dean says that most of us put our keys and wallet down on the nearest table as we walk in at home.

“Don’t leave items where they are easy to reach; remember someone can be in and out of your house without you hearing a thing,” he says. “If you have a household appliance working you’ll hear less and you’ll be distracted. Lock doors even when you are at home to reduce yourself from becoming a victim of this type of crime.”

Statistics show that about 20% of burglaries are committed while people are at home.

Auckland based police dog Aster made the most of his last two days on the job before his retirement when he assisted in the arrest of four young burglars and car thieves this morning.

The four had broken into a liquor store at the corner of St Vincent Avenue and Remuera Road at about 1.00am. At 1.30am they were seen driving in a stolen Subaru station wagon by Aster’s handler, Constable Kelvin Roberts. The vehicle had earlier been taken from Kelston.

The vehicle sped off as Constable Roberts attempted to speak to the driver and a short pursuit followed until the vehicle was spiked on Remuera Road and dumped in a nearby street.

Aster and Kelvin were close enough behind the slowing vehicle to quickly discourage the four offenders from running from the scene and held them until the arrival of other police units.

Inspector Brooker of the Auckland Central Station praised the actions of the pair saying that the combination of good intuition in spotting the suspicious actions of the group and the effective deployment of the dog lead to a copy book apprehension. Police had been unaware of the smash and grab at the liquor store and it was only when unopened bottles of spirits were found in the stolen car that a burglary was suspected. The burglary was discovered by the same dog unit during follow-up patrols.

BLENHEIM BURGLAR ARRESTED STATEMENT ISSUED BY ARMOURGUARD GENERAL MANAGER IAN ANDERSON

“Armourguard appreciates the work done by the New Zealand Police enquiry team that was responsible for apprehending the offender involved in the burglary of its Blenheim premise earlier this year.

“The sheer commitment of the Police to the job of finding the offender coupled with outstanding forensic skills and solid detective work was exemplary.

“Since the theft we have carried out further extensive reviews of our processes and procedures to identify additional checks and measures that can be put in place to safeguard against this type of thing from occurring again.”

A 20 year old man has appeared in court for a number of burglaries in South Christchurch including several in Ashgrove Tce.

He has been charged with eight burglaries, Driving while disqualified and unlawfully on a property.

Senior Sergeant Steve Kelly says that police stopped a vehicle last week and located three lap tops plus other items which linked him to a number of burglaries.

Senior Sergeant Kelly says that there have been a lot of burglaries in southern suburbs recently and people should be on the look out for anyone acting suspiciously, keep an eye on their neighbours and keep their houses secure when they are out or working in the garden round the back.