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Residents of a quiet Canterbury cul-de-sac say they have been left frustrated and uneasy after learning about a home invasion in their quiet street — 11 days after it happened.
And it appears they only became aware after Selwyn Times door knocked residents on Jacobsens Place, Lincoln, on Monday asking about the incident.
When Selwyn Times then put questions to the police after door knocking, they confirmed an aggravated burglary had been reported on July 16. Then later that day police put out a public appeal seeking information and home security camera footage from Jacobsens Pl and surrounding roads in a bid to help identify the offender.
But residents say that was far too late and they believe police should have gone to residents the day after the incident to seek security camera footage.
A resident named Kerry said: “Why wait two weeks and then ask people if they saw anything? How does that work? Memories aren’t so good after two weeks. I think the police actions are very poor.”
Others spoken to by Selwyn Times were also perplexed.
On Friday, police said in an updated statement: “Police continue to follow lines of inquiry in our investigation, including exploring potential CCTV footage.”
The victim of the incident declined to speak to Selwyn Times, but he said “police did a good job” responding to the incident on the night.
Detective Senior Sergeant Jo Carolan said a police dog unit arrived at the scene about 15min after the incident and tracked the offender’s scent around the corner to Southfield Drive. It is believed he had a vehicle there.
She said the offender was “roughly” 170cm tall, was wearing a dark coloured hoodie, with the hood up, with a black face mask showing only his eyes.
“The victim was not injured, however, they and the other occupant of the home were understandably very shaken by the incident,” she said.
“No suspect has been identified at this stage. Police are following lines of inquiry which include follow-up interviews with victims and witnesses, and renewed calls for CCTV.”
Carolan did not respond to a question from Selwyn Times why police had not canvassed the area for home security footage.
But she did say the police believed the Jacobsens Place home invasion was not connected to another intruder incident 700m away on Southfield Drive two nights later.
In that incident, reported by Selwyn Times last week, an 80-year-old homeowner disturbed two masked intruders in his backyard about 11.30pm. They ran off when he yelled at them.
Police did not respond to the incident after determining he was no longer in any danger.
Kerry said Jacobsens Place was “a very nice, relaxed, quiet cul-de-sac” where residents had never felt the need to be overly security conscious.
That has now changed.
“We’ve lifted our level of caution. We’ve been known to go out and leave the doors open in the past, but now we’ll make a point for a while of being more secure, particularly at night.”
Selwyn Times asked police if there had been similar incidents in Lincoln in the past month. Police said an Official Information Act request would be needed to get the information, which could take up to 20 working. Selwyn Times has lodged a request.
- Anyone with information about the incident can call the police non emergency 105 number or make a report online, using file number 260717/7228.