Francesca Rudkin: Are we really doing enough to tackle retail crime?

Some good news and some not-so-good news for retail crime.  

Let’s start with the good news – it’s Monday after all.  

Police data reveals that the figures are down for burglaries in Auckland.  

They are also down for abductions.  

Ram raids have continued to trend down to the lowest number of 15  percent in April this year compared to a high of 86 percent in 2022.  Maybe those bollards and interventions have worked their magic and made it less fun to video a car crashing into shop, or maybe boot camp doesn’t sound like a great way to spend 3 months.  

But the Dairy and Business Owners’ Group is still very concerned about the statistics because we have seen an increase in acts that are likely to cause injury – they are up 4 percent.  

On the rise, we have assaults, sexual assault, robbery, and theft.  

And the retail sector is paying the price for this.  

The owner of a South Auckland 24/7 diary is feeling helpless and scared after being robbed twice in the last week. Having fog cannons and panic alarms didn’t deter the robbers – who were targeting the till, cigarettes and vapes.  

Also, just recently a security guard was bashed in the head with a hammer by armed assailants during a robbery of a jewellery store, and the owner of another jewellery store in South Auckland suffered a skull fracture and cuts after teenage robbers used a hammer and knife to stab him.  

It’s clear to see why retail workers are still scared to go to work and do their jobs.  

In July, the Coalition Government announced they were establishing a Ministry Advisory Group for the victims of crime as part of its plan to restore law and order- they want this group of business owners, retail experts, and advocacy groups to provide the Government specific proposals to address urgent challenges in retail crime – over the next two years.  

The intention is that this group will help ensure there are 20,000 fewer victims of violent crime by 2029 and reduce serious youth offending by 15 percent. 

Sounds great. A good step forward. But what about today? What about the worker who has to go to work in the 24/7 dairy tonight?  

Auckland’s CBD has been crying out for more police on the streets to make the inner city safe again and crack down on violence and antisocial behaviour – and the police have responded. It’s great to see cops walking the streets – being part of the community. Their presence is reassuring.  

But what about other areas of Auckland – do we have enough police to make all neighbourhoods feel that same sense of security?

So what do we do about retail crime? We have a group that will kick into gear at some point with some new suggestions. We have put physical deterrents into shops and shopping areas. We have more cops out on the street in certain areas. We have a government that is keen on real consequences to crime – stronger sentences for convicted criminals.  

But is this enough? What is it going to take to stop there being around 11 assaults every day? Life isn’t getting any easier out there for some people - times are still tough. Hopefully, some of these solutions will have an impact long term – but is there anything left that we could do short term to solve this issue? Because you should be able to go to work in the morning, and not worry about someone coming at you with a hammer.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the carry wood of morning's podcast from
News Talk sed B.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Some good news and some not so good news for
retail crime. So let's start with the good news, because
it is Monday, after all. Police Dart reveals that the
figures are down for burglaries in Auckland. They're also down
for abductions. RAM raids have continued to trend down to
the lowest number of fifteen in April compared to a

(00:32):
high of eighty six in twenty twenty two. So look,
maybe maybe those bollards and interventions have worked their magic
and made it less fun to video a car crashing
into a shop, or maybe boot camp doesn't sound like
a great way to spend three or nine months. But
the Dairy and Business Owners Group is still very concerned

(00:54):
about the statistics because we have seen an increase in
acts that are likely to cause injury. They're up four percent,
so there is a rise. We're sent a rise in assaults,
sexualist robbery and theft, good old shoplifting, and the retail
sector is paying the price for this. The owner of

(01:15):
a South Auckland twenty four to seven dairy is feeling
helpless and scared after being robbed twice in the last week.
Having fog, cannons and panic al arms didn't seem to
deter the robbers and they were targeting the till cigarettes
and vapes. Also, just recently, a security guard was bashed
in the head with a hammer by an armed assailant
during a robbery of a jewelry store. The owner of

(01:37):
another jewelry store in South Auckland suffered a skull fracture
and cuts after teenage robbers used a hammer and a
knife to stab him. It is clear to see why
retail workers are still scared to go to work and
do their jobs now. In July, the coalition government announced
they were establishing a Ministerial Advisory Group for the Victims
of crime as part of its plan to restore law

(01:59):
and order. So they want this group of business owners,
retail experts and advocacy group to provide the government with
specific proposals to address urgent challenges and retail crime over
the next two years. So the intention is that this
group will help ensure there are twenty thousand fewer victims

(02:22):
of violent crime by twenty twenty nine and reduce serious
youth offending by fifteen percent. So it sounds great. Right,
We've got to target. We've got a plan. It's going
to take a little while. What about today? What about
the worker who has to go to do his shift.
In the twenty four seven dary Tonight, Auckland's CBD has

(02:45):
been crying out for more police on the streets, as
have various different neighborhoods around the country to make the
inner city safe again and crack down on violence and
anti social behavior, and the police have responded. It is
great seeing the cops walking for street being part of
the community. I was actually really surprised at how reassuring
I found that it does work. I don't know what

(03:08):
else they maybe should have been doing with their time
solving crime, but you know, their presence was really reassuring.
But what about other areas of cities and I've walked on,
do we have enough police to make sure that other
neighborhoods feel the same sense of security. What do we

(03:29):
do about retail crime? We have a group that will
kick into gear at some point with some new suggestions.
We've put some physical deterrence into shops and shopping areas,
got some more cops out on the street in certain areas,
with a government that is keen on real consequences to crime.
So these stronger sentences for convicted criminals. But is this enough?

(03:49):
I mean, what is it going to take to stop
there being around eleven assaults every day? Life isn't getting
easier out there for some people. Times are still tough.
Hopefully some of these solutions will have an impact long term,
and we know change takes time, but is there anything
left that we could do short term to solve this issue?

(04:11):
Because you should be able to go to work in
the morning and not worry about someone coming at you
with a hammer.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
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