The long legs of the law

A man who allegedly stole a donation box from the Paihia Four Square was chased down by an off-duty police officer. Picture / John Stone

A man who allegedly stole a charity donation box from a Paihia shop on Friday, then tried to run away when he was chased down and arrested, was not quite as fleet of foot as he might have hoped.

Senior Constable Neil Vartan said a man entered the Four Square store on Williams Rd around noon, and stole a Heart Foundation donation box, containing up to $60, from the counter. He then spent his ill-gotten gains at another store in town, but was recognised by a Four Square worker.

The worker alerted a police officer at a Ngāti Hine Covid-19 testing station in the Williams Rd carpark, and he in turn alerted an officer who was studying at the Paihia police station, in her own time. They then split up and went in search of the alleged thief.

The off-duty officer found the suspect and placed him under arrest, showing him her ID because she wasn't in uniform. When the suspect tried to run away she chased him on foot across town, and caught him at a residential address. He was the taken to the station for processing.

"It was a good catch by a dedicated off-duty officer. She displayed outstanding courage and athletic ability," Mr Vartan said.

A 27-year-old Bay of Islands man, who was also found to have been breaching bail, appeared in the Whangārei District Court on Saturday charged with theft and escaping lawful custody.

The store owner declined to comment.

It's not the first time someone has tried to make off with a donation box in the Bay of Islands, but, thanks to in-store security cameras, the thieves rarely get away.

In 2018 a 36-year-old Paihia man was arrested for stealing a Red Cross donation box containing more than $200 from the counter at the Four Square in Russell. He was identified by CCTV footage and arrested.

In 2017 a Kidney Kids donation box was stolen from the Kerikeri Sushi Gallery. In that case a 34-year-old Kerikeri man confessed after a CCTV image was published online and in the Northern Advocate. He was charged with theft, and donated $100 to the charity, double the amount he was thought to have taken.

In 2016 a box brimming with donations for Ōpua School was stolen from the town's general store. A teenage girl from Whangārei was arrested after someone recognised a CCTV image, also published in the Northern Advocate.