Torpedo7, in Whangārei, which was ram-raided in June - one of many in Northland so far this year.
Torpedo7, in Whangārei, which was ram-raided in June - one of many in Northland so far this year.
OPINION:
People stealing cars and driving them into retail premises has been causing thousands of dollars of damage for businesses and communities for months.
I've had Northland locals contact my office to tell me they are concerned for their safety, and shop owners are saying that the increased crime isscaring people away.
On the early morning of Tuesday, September 6, I was driving past the Strand Mall in the Whangārei CBD when I noticed there were security guards standing outside a smashed storefront which belonged to the opticians, OPSM. It quickly became clear that there had been an overnight burglary.
The sight of broken glass scattered on the pavement, smashed windows, and upset store owners is becoming a regular occurrence.
I recently met with eight small business owners or managers who have been ram-raided or burgled in the past few weeks. These include Johnson's Jewellers in Kamo, Torepedo 7 at Okara, Kathmandu in the CBD, Parua Bay 4 Square, Patels Foodmarket on Kamo Rd, Kensington Liquorland, the Tutukaka General Store, and OPSM in the middle of town.
All of these stores have lost thousands of dollars and worry about the safety of their staff, with some of the raids occurring during daylight hours, and some of the raiders carrying weapons. They expressed that they were just storekeepers and family people, employing locals and trying to make their way in the world.
Hearing these stories or reading the headlines is not the New Zealand we know.
Unfortunately, recently released figures revealed that the number of ram-raids on retailers have soared under this government. Across New Zealand, there has been a more than 500 per cent increase in the number of ram-raids in the first six months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2018.
A police report based on a sample of ram-raids shows that only 37 per cent of offences result in enforcement action, and that re-offenders are responsible for a quarter of overall ram-raids. The same report also showed that patched gang members and associates made up almost 10 per cent of ram-raids.
National Party list and Whangārei-based MP Shane Reti says ram-raids have been causing thousands of dollars of damage for Northland businesses and communities for months.
The Government's big solution to the ram-raid epidemic is a $6 million fund for businesses to install security measures. But that's been a total failure. It has been reported that only five stores in the whole country had received funding to beef up their security, and I find no evidence of any of that funding in Whangārei. Clearly, that is not enough. National knows that offenders must be identified, caught, and held accountable for their actions.
I advocate strongly for the people of Northland, so I brought National's police spokesperson Mark Mitchell to Whangārei to meet with locals so that he had a clear understanding that these brazen robberies are happening outside of Auckland, too.
Mitchell is an ex-police dog handler and understands the current process police have to go through. He described members of the police force contacting him, feeling frustrated that they did not have the tools to provide the safety and protection that they wanted to.
This has been my observation and experience locally, also.
Our police are working incredibly hard to keep our communities safe. Unfortunately, they seem not well supported by the Government, which, by the Prime Minister's own admission, has taken its focus off the police portfolio.
Getting the mix between deterrence and prevention is challenging but important. Unfortunately, the current environment appears too permissive and soft on crime.
We support the police and thank them for the work that they do, but we also need do give them the tools and levers to do the best job that they possibly can, and acknowledge that there is still a lot of work to do in this space.
