Deb Hann
I hope everyone managed to get a break over the Easter weekend.
Starting with a few recent good catches: Cambridge staff last week found and arrested a recidivist shoplifter who was wanted for four different thefts across Cambridge and Hamilton. She will now be appearing in court.
Te Awamutu staff attended a crash involving a single vehicle, where the driver had gone straight through an intersection, hit the curb and shrubbery. Breath test procedures were conducted and recorded a breath alcohol level of almost five times the legal limit. The driver will also be facing charges.
In another incident, a stolen car was detected driving into Te Awamutu and soon fled from police. After being stopped through the deployment of spikes, one youth was immediately arrested while a second fled. A successful track by a police dog handler resulted in both youths now facing associated charges.
Back in Cambridge last weekend, a report of a car doing a burnout on Burns Street quickly resulted in the vehicle being located outside a Leamington address. It was immediately impounded for 28 days. The driver will face a charge of sustained loss traction.
I regularly remind everyone to ring 111 if police attendance is required at the time (105 where reporting is delayed). What I would like to mention now, is what comes next, especially when you are an independent witness to something.
Making that initial 111 call is great to ensure a unit is aware and can be dispatched to assist. How effectively we can address the situation, however, may depend on our ability to obtain ongoing and timely updates. If you call us and drive on, away from the scene of the incident, it often leaves us with unanswered questions as to where offenders may have gone, any developments or escalation in the situation or changes in location.
If you’re making the call about an unfolding incident or situation, I would encourage you to remain in the area observing from a safe position. This greatly assists the staff that are responding.
In some cases, an informant has moved on and we arrive to find no evidence of the people or incident described. That leaves us wondering whether people have simply left the area, been picked up by a vehicle or are still in the area but hiding from view.
In the case of driving offences, a vehicle’s onward route and progress becomes uncertain. If it is safe and possible to do so, staying online to 111 or calling back with updated information when things change will greatly assist us. Safer communities together.
