Man spots burglars in home
A northern Wellington resident came home to see a strange car in his driveway and the silhouettes of two people burgling his home.
Police say the man is the latest victim in a spate of crimes that have hit the suburb of Tawa over the past few months.
Detective Sergeant Mike Tohill, of Porirua Police CIB, said the man immediately called police after discovering the burglars on Monday last week.
‘‘They must have seen him from the house because they didn’t come back to the car,’’ Tohill said.
‘‘The people, I think, jumped out a window, and climbed over the back fence. I don’t think they got to the point of taking anything.’’
Officers swarmed the area and set up cordons. A dog unit was also called in.
‘‘Then another member of the public said they saw them climbing fences nearby,’’ Tohill said. ‘‘We were able to catch them from there.’’
One of the men was remanded in custody to appear in Porirua District Court later this month facing charges of burglary and the unlawful taking of a motor vehicle.
It turned out the car was stolen, and would be returned to the owner once police had finished examining it for evidence.
Police and the Tawa Com- munity Patrol have increased the amount of patrols in the area to curb a rise in crime over the past few months.
Tohill said encouraging residents to lock their property and not leave anything valuable in sight was all part of ‘‘hardening’’ the area against people who might want to take advantage of its relatively friendly setting.
Northern Ward councillor Malcolm Sparrow, of Wellington City Council, spoke in August of how occasional crime had increased to the point of eight separate incidents happening over a fortnight.
One incident involved two 14-year-old boys who were allegedly assaulted on their way home from school.
Another saw someone steal from a Tawa Community Board member’s home.
Board chairman Richard Herbert said police had warned residents that people had been ‘‘coming in from outside the area’’ to commit various crimes, particularly breaking into cars or backyard sheds.
Residents had been discussing the issue on social media website Neighbourly, and with police at a community meeting.