Deb Hann
Last Thursday I had the opportunity to meet with the volunteers from the Cambridge Citizens Advice Bureau.
I was invited to speak on the topic of family harm, including Police Safety Orders, Protection Orders, stalking, and the support services available to those affected. I appreciated the volunteers’ interest and engagement. We are fortunate in Waipā to have people who give their time so generously to help others. Cambridge CAB is located at 62 Alpha Street and is open weekdays 9am to 4.30pm.
Senior constable Deb Hann inside the police station. Photo: Aaron Radford.
In recent columns, I have discussed ways to target-harden your vehicle against car crime. This week, I would like to give a reminder of what to do if your vehicle is stolen and you later locate and recover it independently of police.
With the widespread use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology, detection of any vehicle registration plate flagged as stolen will generate an alert to police.
On a few occasions, staff responding to these alerts have stopped a vehicle only to find the registered owner driving, rather than the car thief we expected. If you find your stolen vehicle before police do, please notify us immediately so records can be updated and any unnecessary response avoided.
At the same time we can then also discuss with you the remaining opportunities for forensic examination and carry out relevant CCTV or other enquiries around the recovery location in a timely manner. One car thief or group of thieves will be responsible for multiple offences so evidence gained from one, will often contribute to solving another.
A related issue is the theft of registration plates. Offenders will often steal plates from one car and attach them to another to avoid identification while committing offences such as petrol drive-offs or shop thefts. Thanks to information provided by a vigilant member of the public, a man was arrested in Cambridge last week for exactly this type of offending.
If your registration plate is stolen, it is advisable to obtain a replacement set with a new registration as soon as possible. As long as the original plate remains flagged stolen, your legitimate vehicle may otherwise generate unnecessary and misleading alerts as it travels around town.
Senior Constable Deb Hann – On the Beat
