Editorial: Jewel thief was no mastermind

The footage of the theft from the Napier Antique and Jewellery Centre shows it was a smash and grab with no apparent plan. Photo/Supplied

The footage of Tuesday's smash and grab robbery of $180,000 worth of jewellery is a wonderful illustration of the reality of theft.

The security camera footage, taken from inside the Napier Antique and Jewellery Centre in the early hours of Tuesday, shows a window being bashed in from the outside before a hooded thief, whose facial features are unidentifiable in the footage, scales the nearby counter, scampers across the shop floor and loads the stock into a bag.

It takes less than a minute for the thief to steal $180,000 worth of rings.

The notion of a jewellery theft has a certain appeal in the popular culture pysche.

It is a crime glamourised by both Hollywood and the media and conjures up imagery of expensive suits and champagne, wit and intellect, daring heists and cunning capers.

The robbery of the Napier Antique and Jewellery Centre this week couldn't have been more different.

A lone man moronically bashes his way through a glass window, scurries across a shop floor and hurriedly shoves as much goods as he can into a bag.

In and out in 30 seconds, and lacking in any apparent masterplan.

The smash and grab, as it is fittingly named, was brutally efficient but equally unintelligent.