The universe wants to play with you (8)



Drama student prank answer to 'dwarf' mystery

By Brendan O'Çleary 

Senior Sergeant Pat Marker admitted that the case of the 'Dwarf Security Service' , reported last week in the ODT, was one of the stranger investigations he has been involved in during his almost 18 years on the force in Dunedin.

It was also one of the quickest to solve. Marker and his team only had 3 letters of the van's rego plate plus a vague description of the type of van to go on. Luckily, one of the scarfie's involved told his sister, who told her mother who phoned Marker directly.

All four students involved were quickly invited to Dunedin Central Police station, where they given a stern talking to by Marker. As he explained, 'I was quite cross with them as it could have had serious consequences. They realised this and are very apologetic about this stunt. It was for this reason that we decided not to charge them or release their names as we don't want to see a spate of copycat actions'.

However, not everyone approves of this approach. Calvin Malkevic of the Sensible Sentencing Trust warned that it sent the wrong message to other students. 'These students have been let off scott-free for the crime of impersonating security officials. Due to the lack of punishment, I wouldn't be surprised to see similar future copycat actions'.

Pat Marker thinks the likelihood of a repeat is low, not least because neither he nor the perpetrators are going to reveal how it was done.