A Northern Ireland police station which was targeted by burglars had been left with its windows open and its alarm switched off, it has emerged. The station in Ballynahinch, County Down, was broken into last month.
Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland told the Policing Board officers went on patrol and forgot to lock up properly. He said that a criminal and disciplinary investigation was under way.
ACC McCausland said the message for police was the same as every other householder - close your windows and switch on the alarm. He said that no police equipment was taken in the break-in at the station, which is currently being renovated.
There was an amount of banter at the board meeting when the break-in was discussed.
Sinn Fein assembly member Alex Maskey wondered if perhaps "the 20 unopened bottles of milk" on the doorstep had tipped off the robbers.
South Down DUP assembly member Jim Wells commended the police for their honesty over the matter.
"Now that I've heard the explanation I must admire the police as they have been totally honest - I would applaud them for that, but what steps are going to be taken to make sure something like this doesn't happen again?" he told the News Letter.
"We were lucky. Whoever broke in was not a hardened criminal or terrorist."
He said that if weapons or sesitive documents had fallen into the "wrong hands" there could have been serious repercussions.
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