Hawke's Bay police have praised a Napier dairy owner's use of a fog cannon to deter a trio of robbers. Photo / Eastern District Police
Hawke's Bay police have praised a Napier dairy owner's use of a fog cannon to deter a trio of robbers. Photo / Eastern District Police
A Napier dairy owner is considering amping up security even more following an attempted aggravated robbery incident after a fog cannon deterred the would-be robbers.
Sonu Kaur told Hawke's Bay Today that the fog cannon was installed after a previous attempted robbery at the Te Awa dairy on Ellison St dairy in June.
"On Monday, it was closing time, they were after smokes, just like the last time, but this time the fog cannon activated and they ran away without taking anything," Kaur said.
"But it is scary, and it's happening too often. Sometimes there's only one person at the dairy.
"If someone enters your property and threatens you, it is scary. We are going to talk about more security."
Police said three people entered the dairy on Monday night around 8pm, and one of them was armed.
The store owner activated the fog cannon and the offenders left the premises without taking anything, fleeing in a dark blue Mazda Demio which was located a short time later on Mason Ave.
Manmohan Singh, gardening completed, back at the Te Awa Store counter a few hours after using his hoe to whack a robber, in June. Photo / Warren Buckland
Hawke's Bay area response manager Senior Sergeant Neale Saunders said the situation could have been a lot worse for the store.
"Thanks to some quick thinking and access to a fog cannon, property loss and potential injury has been avoided," Saunders said.
He said there were currently 30 fog cannons installed at commercial premises throughout the Eastern District.
"Fog cannon technology is an excellent resource that's been proven time and time again to prevent theft."
The dairy has been targeted by robbers several times over the years, most famously in August 2016 when the owner Manmohan Singh and son Sukhjinder Pal grabbed a hockey stick and a table leg to ward off two robbers armed with a claw hammer and a crowbar.
On that occasion, a fight behind the counter and the disarming of the man wielding the crowbar were captured on CCTV images which were later widely viewed on social media.
The Aggravated Robbery Initiative enables police to provide subsidies for the purchase of fog cannons, which typically cost about $4000, helping bring the price down to just $250.
Police assess whether a certain premises is eligible for a fog cannon subsidy based on the frequency of crime occurring at that address and in the area, Saunders explained.
Any further maintenance costs are the responsibility of the business receiving the device.
To date, police have distributed 912 fog cannons to at-risk premises nationwide and have a further 88 remaining.
Police along with the vendor, Focus Digital Security Solutions, will make contact with eligible businesses in due course.
Members of the public with more information about Monday night's attempted robbery are asked to contact Police by calling 105 and quote the file number 210810/9371.
