Deb Hann
Kia ora koutou katoa, we are having a lovely short week – after a four day weekend for some – and I hope everyone was able to get time to relax.
First in good news, sometimes it is a mix of police experience and a person unwittingly bringing themselves to police attention, which delivers a good catch. This week one of our late shift units was on the way back from a job in Karāpiro when they noticed a car following the car ahead a little too closely. While not the most aggressive driving they had seen, instinct told them to stop the car. Their instincts paid off and the driver gave a breath test that exceeded the breath alcohol limit.
Police siren. Photo: Pexels.com
I had an interesting Saturday late shift last weekend, where I was reviewing some recent crime reports. Sometimes even the person involved doesn’t know why they did something illegal in the moment. Following a theft report, I spoke to a person who had been identified by a local business as having stolen a part off of a display lawnmower.
While the monetary value was not high, they noted that she didn’t seem comfortable in her actions but had nevertheless left the store after concealment and driven away. My subsequent conversation may almost have been a relief to the offender. She immediately admitted the theft, indicating she felt ashamed and confused as to her actions. She was remorseful and at my suggestion, immediately drove to the store, returned the stolen part – and paid for a new one. That bad decision led to her being trespassed from the store for two years. Theft is theft.
Lastly, a word of caution for when using prepay petrol apps. Petrol drive offs (thefts) are sadly a continuing occurrence for our service stations. While checking recent reports, I found one that appeared out of character for the vehicle owner and driver. Reading the details, I could see that a visiting driver had tried to use a prepay app , but it didn’t work. When the cashier opened the pump, she had subsequently filled her car but left without making an attempt to pay.
You guessed it, when spoken to, the driver had mistakenly believed the payment had finally gone through. Once I had made her aware, she contacted the service station and paid in full. If you have any question at all about petrol payment, be sure to either check in with staff at the service station or check your bank account to ensure you have paid. This has similarly occurred with drivers using corporate fuel cards with payments processed via an app. If reported for theft, your car will have an alert put on it, which may result in an unexpected stop by police. Make good decisions and have a great week.
