A $32,000 theft from an Auckland police station safe last year has had a ripple effect around the country and police say they no longer keep cash at police stations.
The cash was stolen from a safe at the Takapuna Police Station in May last year.
Some of the money was the
proceeds of crime and some handed to police from other sources, including found money.
None of the $32,000 had been recovered but several thousand dollars was paid to people who had a legitimate claim on the stolen cash, Inspector Mike Hill said today.
Several people, including serving police, were questioned but no one was arrested, although one those questioned, a policeman, was later charged with two charges of theft, unrelated to the disappearance of the money.
He was convicted, fined and resigned from the force before he could be sacked.
Mr Hill said as a result of the theft from the police safe, police had changed their approach to the security of cash.
He said police would now either deposit the cash in a bank account or store it in a bank vault.
Cash put in a bank vault was not deposited in an account because it was often needed as evidence.
"We have completely reviewed security arrangements. We don't carry any cash at all on the premises. It set up a chain reaction right across New Zealand," Mr Hill said.
He said the investigation into the theft of the $32,000 was still open and one aspect of the inquiry was the possibility the thieves may have had inside information.
- NZPA
