The first day of spring was also the first day on duty for the Hutt Valley’s new Retail Crime Taskforce – and the last day of evading Police for a prolific offender they caught an hour after his offending file was sent through.

Inspector Shaun Lingard, Area Prevention Manager for Hutt Valley, said the team was assigned a file from the National Retail Crime Investigation Unit (NRISU) this morning and within the hour had found the offender and arrested him.

“The team of five, led by Sergeant Cameron Cross, are part of a taskforce we’re trialling for six months in the Hutt Valley.

“We’ve seen other teams and taskforces set up around the country having great results, and this area is a priority for Police. So we thought, what can we do here locally to have a dedicated focus on retail crime.

“We want our retailers to feel safer and our community to know that we won’t tolerate this behaviour.

“Today’s case involved a 19-year-old male who had offended across the Wellington District and already had three active charges for shoplifting and had been identified as a suspect in six separate shoplifting incidents.

“The team located the man and he has now been charged with six shoplifting offences and one charge of threatening behaviour.

“I’m excited the new team are now operating and having such great success on day one. I’m looking forward to seeing the results over the next six months and seeing what impact we can make for retailers and our community in this space.”

If you see any unlawful or suspicious activity, please contact Police. If it is happening now, or you have immediate concerns for you or someone else's safety, call 111.

Information after the fact or in non-emergencies can be reported online at 105.police.govt.nz, clicking "Make a Report" or by calling 105.

Information can also be provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

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