Teenagers' Arrest Result of Constable Following Instincts

Trust your instincts- they're invariably right is the message from Hamilton Police following the arrest of two teenagers in the City early this morning.

Shift manager, Senior Sergeant Dave Litton, said the call comes after officers noticed two boys acting suspiciously on Bridge St, just up from the Hamilton Central Police Station, about 1am.

"Overnight it was raining heavily and given the late hour it just didn't seem right that two boys, who turned out to be aged 13 and 14-years-old, would be out at this time in such conditions.

"On stopping the pair the older boy was found to be breaching bail conditions for 13 theft related charges and he had a 12 inch long screwdriver stuffed down the front of his trousers leading us to believe the pair may have been intending to break into a number of parked cars."

Mr Litton said Police weren't the only ones who can take positive action around crime by following their instincts.

"Over the past year crime in the Waikato has dropped by 4.5 per cent and resolution rates climbed to 46 percent. Police view this as a real positive and point to community buy-in as a significant part of the success.

"To build on this the public need to trust their instincts- if someone appears to be acting suspicious they probably are and Police need to know about it. Likewise if you're leaving to go out and think- maybe I should have locked that window, don't shrug it off- go back and lock it."

Mr Litton said above all don't presume Police already know about an issue or are too busy to worry about it.

"With the introduction of the new Crime Reporting Line you don't even have to leave home to report a crime you can do it from the comfort of your own home and on average each report takes just 12 minutes and callers get a file reference there and then.

"By letting us know about what's happening we can build up a picture about trends in our City. That way we can ensure we have the right people in the right place at the right time to prevent crime such as the incident this morning."

ENDS

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