Operation SNAP - New Zealand Police

Operation SNAP

Operation SNAP is a community crime prevention initiative involving a partnership between the Police, participating insurance companies and their clients in an effort to reduce burglary in Auckland City.

Auckland City residents have a key role to play in community crime prevention initiatives and the success of Operation SNAP depends on active participation and ownership of the project by many sectors of the community.

Property Crime Facts

A recent survey completed by Police and the Chamber of Commerce shows few people record serial numbers but that once they become victims of a property crime, they wish they had.

A random sample showed only 28 per cent of respondents kept a list of property serial numbers.

Of tens of thousands of reported property offences in the Auckland City District each year, just over 9,000 serial numbers will be collected by Police to assist them tracking and recovering the goods. By this time, the goods may have been on-sold many times over, rendering it nearly impossible for them to ever be recovered. It also involves a wide circle of unsuspecting victims in property crime.

Burglars or suppliers of stolen goods receive a market or near market price for property which has the serial number intact.

Receiving or buying stolen goods is illegal and helps keep burglars in business, so proceed with caution when buying second-hand goods. Look for the following indicators to determine whether the goods are "hot or not":

• Serial numbers - have they been removed ?
• Where are you buying from - a legitimate store or have you had an unsolicited approach from a stranger ?
• What's the asking price - real cheap ?
• How quickly does the seller want to close the deal ?
• Is the seller willing to give you any of his/her contact details ?
• How do they want to be paid - cash or cheque ?

Burglars will try to sell stolen goods through various outlets, including:

• Flea markets
• Classified ads
• Direct approaches to sports clubs or public bars
• Through a "friend of a friend"

Help break the burglar's business - Police Messages

• The remote storage of serial numbers should compliment the secure private storage of serial numbers - it will back-up private initiatives
• Serial number storage will provide Police and victims of crime with a concise and quick checklist of what's been stolen
• Investigating officers can promptly record the serial numbers of stolen goods on their database and cross-reference with recovered goods. This means a higher rate of burglary/theft type arrests
• Once the rate of serial number recording is improved, more goods will be recovered and returned to their legal owners
• It is perceived that fewer stolen goods will find their way to legitimate second-hand stores and outlets, in part due to the support for the project from ALTA
• Legitimate traders will be able to check the authenticity of ownership of goods offered to them, simply by checking with the Police database of stolen goods
• A crack down on burglars' income will reduce the rate of burglary by putting the burglars "out of business"
• This will probably also reduce rates of more serious and violent crime in the district as studies show burglars tend to "graduate" on to more serious crimes the longer they are in the "business"

Safer Auckland City, the umbrella for crime prevention in the city, congratulates the Auckland City District Police, the Insurance Council of New Zealand Inc and participating insurance companies for their initiative and commitment to the burglary reduction pilot project.

Participating Insurance Companies

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