More catches to report

Senior Constable Deb Hann – On the Beat

As you will have seen from my last two columns, I think it’s important to give you an idea of what your local Police are involved in and the good outcomes we achieve to keep Cambridge safe.

In continuing good news then, the past week has seen two more great catches.  Following a thorough investigation, a search warrant was executed at an address where drug dealing was being carried out. As a result, a male was arrested and has appeared before the courts on charges for drug offending as well as several other charges related to dishonesty and driving offences.

Just a couple of days later, police apprehended a female following a theft from a supermarket. In her bid to get away, she rammed a police patrol car and then headed out of town, driving dangerously. Her actions ultimately resulted in her crashing into another vehicle driven by a member of the public.

After she was arrested a search of the vehicle she was driving found the items from the theft in Cambridge plus items from two other high value thefts from The Base, Te Rapa that had been reported in the two preceding days.

This person is now charged with thefts and other driving charges. The value of the items taken was approximately $5200.00 and demonstrates how one offender or group of offenders can be responsible for multiple incidents and significant loss to business.

If someone has just stolen from your store, ring 111 immediately. Your action prevents further businesses in town being hit and the town being seen as an easy target. It also makes us more likely to catch the offenders with stolen property still in their possession. In most cases they will also still be wearing the same clothes pictured on CCTV footage, which provides strong supporting evidence.

In other news I am working closely with Neighbourhood Support and Te Tari Pureke (Firearms Safety Authority) around firearms safety, neighbourhood networking and rural crime prevention. To this end, we are planning some rural meetings beginning with Roto-o-Rangi-Kairangi in the coming weeks. I look forward to the chance to meet with our rural communities again.

If you have not yet joined Neighbourhood Support, I strongly recommend you consider doing so. Our local Neighbourhood Support Group representatives Eileen Hawkins and Kathy Rawlings are working closely with groups around being prepared in the event of an emergency, building a sense of community as well as providing valuable information around crime prevention.

Visit www.safercambridge.co.nz to sign up or email [email protected] for further details.  In the meantime, say Hi to a neighbour today, you never know the difference that simple act can make to someone’s day.

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