Senior Constable Deb Hann – On the Beat
I’ll start this week with more good news. We had some great reporting by a member of the public around a suspicious vehicle parked up in Norfolk Downs last week.
The occupants were seen changing over registration plates on the vehicle. Quick attendance by police saw us catch the car and its occupants. The vehicle had two different plates – one of which was stolen. The driver was found to be facing charges for other offences and breaching an associated bail condition not to drive. There was also an alert for a separate previous breach of bail condition issue.
In addition, the driver was on a learner’s licence, which had a reinstate status, meaning it was not current. If a person has been disqualified from driving by the courts (for example after a drink driving conviction), they cannot just automatically start driving the day that disqualification period ends. The licence goes into “reinstate” status and the person is required to physically reapply for a driver’s licence. If they are found driving with their licence still in “reinstate”, they will be forbidden from driving until that process has been completed. In this case, it wasn’t only the driver who wasn’t current, the car itself was in an unsafe condition and a non-operation order (pink sticker) was issued. Great work by our eagle-eyed informant.
I sometimes see misinformation on social media around accessing Cambridge police station so it’s a good opportunity to clarify this again. Our police station front counter is open Monday to Friday 8am – 4pm. Should the door be locked for any unforeseen reason, or if you arrive out of these hours, there are a nevertheless few good options available.
There is an intercom to the left of the door which will link you directly into the Police Communications Centre. Importantly, if Police attendance is required and offending has freshly occurred, please call 111 from your phone (or police communications from the intercom can arrange this). You may also call 105 to report something historic (that is something that has happened at least several hours prior), or go online to 105.police.govt.nz .
Using the online reporting also enables you to update a previous report and upload any supporting photos or documents. Keep up the reporting Cambridge, it is really helpful.
