At around 1.30pm yesterday afternoon (21 October 2015) members of the Canterbury Police CIB and Public Safety Team went to a Hornby address as part of an investigation into the theft of a contractors van 10 days ago. Eight vehicles in different states of being stripped were located at the address including the stolen van.
Three men, two aged 23 and one aged 27 years old, were arrested at the address and are due to appear in Christchurch District Court this morning on charges relating to the vehicles.
Police inquiries are ongoing in relation to the vehicles and property that has been located at the address.
Detective Senior Sergeant Anderson said that the Canterbury Police are committed to reducing the number of victims of crime.
“Over the last couple of months we have been driving an initiative focusing on securing vehicles and reducing the opportunity for vehicles to be stolen or being broken into. There is still room for improvement around changing people’s behaviour and becoming more security conscious, however to identify this address and hold these people to account is really rewarding. Our staff get real satisfaction at being able to inform victims of crime that they have recovered their stolen belongings.”
“The majority of property crime is opportunistic, so prevention is the public’s best weapon against becoming a victim. Remove valuable items from your vehicles when you are away from them or, if that is impracticable, secure your vehicle in a safe place off the street and install a vehicle alarm” says Detective Senior Sergeant Anderson.
SNAP is a New Zealand Police initiative that aims to prevent burglary and property offending by making it harder for criminals to sell stolen goods in New Zealand. The SNAP website (http://www.snap.org.nz) allows you to enter, maintain and access the details of all of your important possessions or assets. If your items are stolen you can retrieve and forward the details to Police and your insurance company
ENDS
Issued by: Lisa-Marie Brooks, District Communications Manager, Canterbury Police