Petty crime frustrates

A Christchurch business owner, who did his own detective work by identifying a man who broke into his service station because he had little confidence in the police, is frustrated nothing has happened since.

Two weeks ago, Mobil Wainoni service station owner Andrew Elliot handed police the name, age, address and a CCTV image of a man, in his late 20s, who allegedly smashed a window, causing $600 worth of damage and stole about $35 worth of food and drink from the premises on January 1.

Police haven't interviewed the offender or made an arrest since they received the information.

"We managed to get an image of the guy who broke in off our CCTV system. We printed it off onto a flyer, offered a $100 petrol voucher as a reward for anyone who could give us information. Within a few weeks we had customers telling us who he was.

"They could have interviewed him by now or at least made an arrest. There's enough information there," he said.

Mr Elliot said in the past when the service station had been broken into they have called the police and no one has been interested or attended, which is why they weren't notified immediately this time round.

"It's disappointing and frustrating. Sometimes they will tell you they will come, then they won't turn up, or they will turn up with fingerprinting gear six days later and there's nothing left to fingerprint because they've been wiped off the glass or it's been replaced.

"Last year there was a riot on the street and windows were smashed but they just weren't interested.

"Two years ago we had a trailer stolen, we put out a reward, passed all the information onto police, because they told us they couldn't do anything unless we sourced it. I have no idea whether or not the guy was prosecuted because I still haven't been told," he said.

Mr Elliot received a letter in the mail on Monday from police advising him that a case had been opened.

"I would like to think that he will be arrested, convicted and have to pay for the damage he did and the items he stole. We have done the hard work and found out all the information. Now it's up to the police to do their part," he said.

Mr Elliot said a customer who had previously owed the service station $60, put another $80 worth of petrol in his vehicle last week, and tried to pay for both purchases using a cheque linked to a closed account.

"He made out that he had been texting me and had the messages to prove it. He wrote a cheque for the money he owed but it bounced. He should be prosecuted.

"I wrote a report, took CCTV images and the cheques to the police station and got told to take it to the Civil Court. But if it is seen as being 'worthwhile' someone would ring me and take it further," he said.

"They are not worried about the small stuff. People are going to keep doing it because they keep getting away with it."

District Criminal Investiga-tions manager Tom Fitzgerald said people are not being made to do their own detective work.

"This sort of thing is not prevalent in Christchurch. There will always be a prioritisation of offenders. We have a dedicated resource to volume crime in Canterbury and we are very proud of the way we handle that crime.

"If people are asked to get information and pass it on to police, including CCTV footage, then they are the best people to do that," he said.