Two people suspected of taking a television from a motel room. Video / Supplied
A Christchurch motel owner is furious after police were too busy to attend a burglary, claiming they asked him to follow the alleged offender in a chase that lasted one-and-a-half hours.
The Addington City Motel owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the Herald two men had taken off witha television and room key from his property on Monday afternoon.
After watching CCTV footage of the incident the owner posted the images of the two alleged offenders online in an attempt to track the pair down.
The following day a local woman had spotted one of the alleged offenders on her street, so the motel owner and his son raced to the location in an attempt to identify the man.
After spotting the man they immediately phoned 111 and explained they had found the alleged offender.
According to the motel owner, the man (pictured) was handed the TV through a window before fleeing. Photo / Supplied
However, instead of police responding to the call for help, the communications call-taker allegedly told the motel owner police were "too busy" to attend and asked the victim to pursue the man on foot.
"Just as my son and I were getting there the guy hopped on to a bus. So I overtook the bus and stopped at the next station and my son got out the car and got on the bus because we needed to verify it was actually the guy," the motel owner told the Herald.
"As the bus was moving off, and my son had identified the guy, I phoned the police and told them he was on the bus.
"I kept updating them but she said they were far too busy to do anything.
"I said 'What? There's not one available cop in the whole of Christchurch?'
"She said 'It's really busy in Christchurch at the moment.' And that was the same pattern each time I phoned."
The motel owner's phone records show his first phone call to police was made at 9.11am.
After getting off the bus, the motel owner's son continued to follow the alleged offender into Rouges Bar where he waited for 30 minutes.
The alleged offender then left the bar before heading into Riccarton Mall, where he eventually ended his journey at Riccarton House Cafe.
Two men were seen entering the motel before taking off with a television on Monday. Photo / Supplied
During the chase, the motel owner lodged a second call at 9.47am to update police, and another one at 10.14am. By this time the alleged offender had already spotted the victim's son.
The motel owner feared the man could attack his son so called police again.
He says officers eventually showed up around 10.40am, about one-and-a-half hours after the first call was made.
A police spokesperson confirmed the incident and told the Herald it isn't unusual for police to ask callers to "assist" from a safe distance.
"It is usual practice for police communicators (call-takers) to offer advice to the public, as our priority is ensuring the public is kept safe and issues are resolved as quickly as possible.
"In this instance, in the initial call the call taker gave some general instructions to the caller around letting police know if the person of interest moved location.
"The call taker also advised the caller to keep themselves safe."
Police also confirmed they could not attend the man's initial call as they were attending other callouts at the time.
"Around the time of the first calls, on-duty Police officers were off at other incidents, including family harm and a robbery," a spokesperson said.
The motel owner told the Herald he's furious at the response time, explaining the alleged offender was moments away from attacking his son before police arrived.
"I called police again at 9.47am and then called again at 10.14am because I was now concerned. They [the call dispatch team] still didn't pass it over to police because they only showed up at 10.40am, one-and-a-half hours later after three emergency calls.
"Each time I phoned they were just adding to the original notes and not reclassifying it.
"I was pleading with them to reclassify it as urgent because this guy has realised my son was following him. He was hiding behind some bushes and was going to leap on him but the cops had just shown up. It could have gone pear-shaped very quickly.
"When the cops did turn up they said 'Why are you whinging? We got here quickly'. And I said 'no, it's 10.40am, I phoned you around 9.11am.' He said 'we've only just been given the job now'.
"All I can assume is the call dispatchers have decided it's not a priority and parked it.
"When the police got the guy he kicked off big time. I just imagine what he would have done to my son if they hadn't arrived in time."
The alleged offender was finally caught and has been remanded in custody and is set to reappear in court in February. Photo / Supplied
The motel owner says he feels massively let down and made the call not just to protect his motel but in case the alleged offender had committed other crimes.
He says it's the job of the police to be out there catching offenders, not the job of the public do to their work for them.
"We had him in our sights, and that was their one opportunity. It wasn't just about catching him for us. It's all about his previous and future victims.
"They need to take that into account when they think it's not worth turning up for. Isn't this what they're supposed to be busy doing? Catching burglars.
"Maybe we need to set up a burglar catching squad for private hire. Looks like you have to do the police's job for them these days. They want it handed to them on a plate."
Police confirmed to the Herald a 27-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday and charged with burglary. He appeared in Christchurch District Court yesterday (28 November), and was remanded in custody to reappear on February 11, 2020.
