Hi there

This month has seen Greenhithe having a few burglaries on Tauhinu Rd in which jewellery and other goods were taken. In one of the burglaries the burglars were disturbed by the alarm but still managed to take quite a bit due to the delay in the alarm. The victims did have a gate at their house which was not closed/locked. Had the gate been locked this might have prevented them from choosing the house. So for all of you that do have a gate and you are not at home, use it and lock it!!

A fairly new initiative is being launched on the Shore this month. It is called select a dna and for more information you can go to the website  www.selectadna.co.nz . So called "DNA kits" are being sold in which items of value (incl items of sentimental value) can be marked with their own specific "dna". This "dna" kit is enough to mark approximately 100 items like computers, tv's, etc and the markings cannot be seen with the naked eye. It is almost impossible to remove it without damaging the items. The items are marked with a dna specific to your goods and will be registered as such in the database. Together with the award-winning SNAP initiative (where one can register their items' serial numbers on a website for free and for easy access), the initiative will make it a lot harder to on-sell stolen goods and they will be easily recognisable if come across during search warrants, checks done on second hand stores, etc. The kits are approximately $100 and the signage provided with the kits will tell any burglar that your items are marked which should deter them from wanting to enter your property. The initiative has strong Police support and many businesses and schools on the North Shore will be introduced to it over the next few weeks.

If you have any query or information about any crimes, please don't hesitate to contact me or if you want to stay anonymous, you can give information to CRIMESTOPPERS on 0800-555 111.

I am still at the Greenhithe Firestation on Thursdays between 10.00 and 12.00 noon.