Two men who showed every sign of intending to rob a Kaitaia service station were spectacularly unsuccessful, thanks to the partnership between Building Safer Communities and police.
The drama began when security cameras relayed images of two men acting suspiciously to the police station at 1.30am last Thursday. The cameramonitor followed the pair, from camera to camera, and alerted a patrol before they reached the Mobil service station.
The attendant was alerted and locked the doors, and the patrol arrived before the two men tried to enter.
One allegedly had a knife. Police, including a dog handler, had been called by BSC. The two men walked off but were followed by the camera monitor south along the main street, and police apprehended them near the fire station.
A 24-year-old local was charged with possession of a knife in a public place, possession of an imitation firearm, possession of a methamphetamine utensil and preparing to commit a crime.
BSC crime intervention manager Bill Frost said the arrest was the best result achieved by the community surveillance partnership so far.
"All the systems put in place - the cameras, the monitor, the patrol, our liaison with the police, the capturing of evidence on camera - played their part to perfection," he said.
It was also noteworthy, he added, that the service station attendant had that very day completed a security course in Kaitaia which included two mock armed robberies.
