Five Ashburton teenagers were arrested and charged with a number of criminal and road policing charges at the end of March following a Canterbury Police investigation into reports of antisocial driving behaviour in the Lake Hood area overnight on Thursday (19 March 2015).
Senior Sergeant Scott Banfield, Officer in Charge of Ashburton Police Station, said “While this type of antisocial behaviour is not acceptable we do not advise members of the community to take matters into their own hands. We cannot rule out further charges being laid against those involved if any other offences are proved to have occurred during this incident.”
“Unfortunately sometimes officers are diverted to other incidents which can delay them arriving at the scene of an incident, particularly in a rural area. However in order to maximise response times, the staff that take emergency calls always try to gather as much information from callers including vehicle registration and descriptions of vehicles and occupants. This allows Officers who are en-route to a scene to identify a vehicle that may have been involved and stop and apprehend offenders as soon as possible after the incident is reported” explained Senior Sergeant Banfield.
A 17 year old man has been charged with theft, operating a motor vehicle causing sustained loss of traction and restricted driver carried unauthorised passenger. Four 17 year old men have been charged with arson and theft. They are all due to appear in Ashburton District Court on 28 April 2015.
“We are committed to keeping our District safe and officially reported events such as these will always be followed up by Police” said Senior Sergeant Banfield.
ENDS
Issued by: Lisa-Marie Brooks, District Communications Manager, Canterbury Police District. Mobile: 021 942 404