Area Commander Hamilton City, Inspector Andrea McBeth:

A burglar’s dreams were dashed when their plan to steal some bedroom furniture was interrupted by night shift staff from a Waikato Public Safety Team.

The officers were roused by some suspicious activity in central Hamilton in the early hours of Saturday morning thanks to an alert witness.

At about 6.30am on 20 July, a male was found at a Nixon Street address where he had been seen taking furniture out of the address and putting it into his vehicle.

A member of the public raised the alarm after being woken up hearing what they thought was a vehicle crash as the offender entered the property.

Police arrived shortly after to find a vehicle leaving the address with several items of household furniture on board.

During the burglary, the offender had removed bedroom furniture from the address, including a bed base and a dressing table – the latter was found strapped to the roof of the vehicle.

The offender was arrested without incident.

A 34-year-old local man is due to appear in the Hamilton District Court today 22 July and faces burglary charges.

While the arrest is positive, attending police were concerned at the boldness of the offender, who had spent some time removing furniture from the address.

This type of offending creates frustration and a sense of violation of privacy for our victims. We are very grateful to the member of the public who alerted us to the burglary while it was in progress.

Our staff were able to get to the scene quickly and halt the offending.

The property will be returned to the victim.

This is a timely reminder for everyone: if you see any suspicious activity or witness any unlawful incidents, contact Police via 111 if it’s happening now.

Information can also be provided to Police by calling 105 or making an online report at 105.police.govt.nz

Alternatively, you can report any information anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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