Scenario: Attempted Theft it’s not over until it’s all over!!!” “Time to go home!! But….. it’s not over until it’s all over!!!”

Scenario It was 03:00, and patrol agreed it was time to call it a day and head home. Patrol driver was delivering his observer to a rural property to the south of town. Turning into the rural side road, they noticed a horse grazing free by the roadside.

They succeeded in catching the horse. Immediate Action The horse was not tied up, and clearly should not have been by the roadside, which also happened to be close to a railway line. Patrol stopped the car, put on the hazard lights, and very slowly approached the horse on foot so as not to scare it into bolting. They succeeded in catching the horse.

Unfortunately, the gate to the paddock was padlocked shut. Follow up action Patrol decided to put the wayward horse into the paddock next to the road where two other horses were. Unfortunately, the gate to the paddock was padlocked shut. Nearby, on the roadside was a horse-float trailer. This struck the patrol as suspicious, not only because of the location, but also the trailer’s jockey wheel was missing, so the front was resting on the ground.

Patrol checked the trailer for a rope or halter, but no luck! Continued Action Patrol checked the trailer for a rope or halter, but no luck! Observer headed to his home nearby to call a local horse owner, who would be able to identify the horse, and would also have a halter to secure it. Patrol driver donned his ‘hi-vis’ jacket, took a torch with red cone from the bag, and waited by the roadside with the horse.

The horse had been, and nearby paddock with the other two. Continued Action Patroller returned, followed closely by a local horse owner, who immediately identified the wayward horse as one she was ‘babysitting’. The horse had been, and nearby paddock with the other two. On inspection, the fence was found to have been deliberately cut and rolled back to make a gap near the railway line.

Police Contact At this point the other two horses in the paddock came over to the gap in the fence, but were prevented from leaving by the patrol. The local owner identified the float as probably belonging to a neighbour. Patrol called ‘Comms’ to report the deliberate damage to the fence, and the suspicious float.

Comms Action Having been given the trailer ‘regno’ by the patrol, Comms ran a ‘QVR’ and were able to identify the owner. Comms contacted the owner and reported the situation relating to the horse-float. Comms contacted a Police Patrol car with all details. They duly arrived.

Police took statements from all involved and inspected the scene. Follow Up Action The local horse owner led the horse to a paddock near her property, then returned with two halters to catch and lead the other two horses to the same paddock. The horse-float owner arrived and stated that the float must have been stolen as it was kept in a hay barn down a private drive. Police took statements from all involved and inspected the scene.

Concluding Action Patrol were able to confirm to Police that the attempted theft must have occurred between midnight, when patrol started and passed that way, and 03:00 when patrol returned. Police and respective owners were most appreciative of patrol’s actions.

Scenario: Attempted Theft THE END Scenario: Attempted Theft (Originally developed by Waikenae Community Patrol)