04 July 2011
Following the arrest of a man over the weekend who had actively been avoiding arrest Waikato Police are reflecting on the value of a having an easily accessible, confidential, crime line.
Hamilton City Area Commander, Inspector Rob Lindsay, said the 38-year-old Morrinsville man's details had been placed in the media only days before his arrest early on Sunday morning.
"This person had been described by us as actively avoiding our staff, being under the influence of methamphetamine and having access to firearms.
"As a result of this coverage information was received from the public at Crimestoppers using their confidential 0800 555111 number that led us to locating the man who was remanded in custody."
Mr Lindsay said the beauty of a system such as Crimestoppers is it gave Police access to information not normally available to law enforcement agencies.
"For a variety of reasons some people are not always in a position to speak directly to Police. Crimestoppers allows us to know what you do without knowing who you are and in Sunday's case enable us to remove a person who presented a genuine risk to the community.
"We would encourage anyone with information on criminal activity who believes they can't speak to Police directly to contact Crimestoppers, its all about safer communities, together."
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