Police – Taking an extra step

One of the greatest kicks I get out of my job comes when one of my staff goes above and beyond and achieves something fabulous for our community.

The week before last, one of the team made a sharp observation during an otherwise routine patrol. It began when he noticed a modern Toyota Hilux ute parked at an address just outside of Warkworth. A check of the truck showed nothing suspicious. The colour, year, make and model were all correct for the parked car. The only thing slightly out of place was the fact that the truck was registered to a Christchurch address. Probably just a visitor, right?

For some reason it just didn’t sit right for my officer, so he went the extra step and contacted the registered owner to make sure the ute was where it was supposed to be. It was then, when the owner, who was sitting in his Christchurch office, told the officer that his Hilux was parked just outside his office, that he realised that something was very wrong.

It turned out that while the genuine Hilux was parked in Christchurch, an identical make, model, colour and very definitely stolen ute was carrying copy registration plates in Warkworth.

This ‘cloning’ of registration plates is a tactic increasingly used by offenders to mask stolen vehicles. As the subsequent investigation took place, it was revealed that the Warkworth ute was a freshly stolen Hilux from South Head, taken only days earlier.

My officer secured a search warrant for the Warkworth address where the truck was parked and the execution of that warrant recovered not only the stolen truck, but also a significant haul of other locally stolen property. Among the items recovered was a recently stolen quad bike, a trailer taken the previous week from Dome Forest and other equipment believed to be connected to thefts across the region.

This is a great example of frontline Police vigilance and the importance of proactive policing. Tugging on that suspicious vehicle thread led to the recovery of thousands of dollars’ worth of locally stolen property. There is nothing my team likes better than getting stolen goods back to their rightful owners and holding those responsible to account for their offending.

As a result of this officer’s attention to detail, not only do a group of hardworking local folk have their valuable vehicles and equipment back, but a 47-year-old Warkworth man has been remanded in custody on a raft of dishonesty charges.

Finally, while I’m impressed with that officer’s attention to detail, making a sharp observation like he did is not something that requires training. He saw something, thought “that seems weird” and took some action. That sort of smarts can be done by anyone.

If you see something that looks out of place or suspicious, give us a call. If you provide the thread, we’ll tug on it. Stay safe.