CCTV helps bag burglar, say police

Burglars beware - your actions could be captured on CCTV.

Having closed-circuit television cameras didn't stop a Whangarei family's home from being burgled, but it did capture images of the theft.

Whangarei police are praising the householder for installing the CCTV system after it led them to a person, whom they say was caught in the act of trying to sell property stolen from 12 homes in the district.

Whangarei police Sergeant John Larkin said it was a good idea for the homeowner to have installed the CCTV. Though it didn't prevent the break-in, it did give clear images of the person involved.

"If people do have this sort of technology in their home and have footage of somebody committing a crime, contact police and we will chase it up," Mr Larkin said.

"In this case, it made things nice and easy.

"An offender was identified, a search warrant was executed and he was caught in the act of trying to dispose of the stolen property."

He said the youth was arrested and allegedly admitted 12 burglaries, mainly of homes in the Onerahi area, in recent weeks.

Mr Larkin said more charges may be laid against the youth, and his arrest, which happened at his home about 11am on Tuesday, may not have happened as quickly if it wasn't for the CCTV footage.

Property allegedly stolen in the burglaries would be returned to the rightful owners.

An 18-year-old youth was arrested and charged with three counts of burglary, although more charges were likely.

He appeared in the Whangarei District Court yesterday and was remanded in custody to reappear in the court on September 26.

The most recent crime statistics for Northland, which covered the 2011 year, show that on average more than five homes are burgled in Northland every day.

Dwelling burglaries increased from 1869 to 1918 last year.

Anybody with information on burglaries, or any other crime, can ring Whangarei police on 4304500 or anonymously for free to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.