Innocent until proven guilty

Someone's going to get a surprise when they pick up their copy of the Herald today. The front page carries the 'story' of a man measuring up the area around an ATM in Dargaville. Evidently, the man was captured on security footage almost six weeks ago and no one has any idea who he is.


I'm not sure why this is on the cover of the Herald. Firstly - what is this, Crimewatch? Secondly - what is this, Northland Crimewatch? I'll admit that it seems like an odd thing to be doing at 8 o'clock at night, but the man is not actually committing any crime. I don't know, maybe he's staging a play set at a bank and wants the set to be realistic. Maybe he's thinking of becoming a builder and wants some practice. Granted, he didn't do himself any particular favours by wearing a black-and-white striped jumper, shaving his head and growing a goatee, but that hardly seems tantamount to consenting to be on the front page of the Herald.

Anyway - and I should point out here that I have no recollection of ever being in Dargaville - how difficult can it be to track down someone who looks like a henchman for the Joker? I fear that by letting the trail get so cold the Herald have allowed this criminal mastermind to go into hiding. If I were the Northland Police, I would start checking inside volcanoes and abandoned castles at once.


EDIT: The Dargaville News (via Stuff) reports that:

[... A] bank spokesperson told the Dargaville and Districts News newspaper today the man was doing legitimate work.

"The man concerned was completing work on behalf of the bank."

Seems like a big old-fashioned misjudgement all round then. Editing the Herald apologises for implying that the man was a stereotypical criminal. (Although even if this was legitimate, he could still be carrying out other criminal activities on the side! Sleep with one eye open.)