Mark Sherry has had staff members accosted by youths, followed through alleyways and heard abuse being shouted outside his office. Photo / George Heard
Mark Sherry has had staff members accosted by youths, followed through alleyways and heard abuse being shouted outside his office. Photo / George Heard
Eighty business owners across Christchurch have stamped their foot down and demanded an “urgent response” from the Government on the city’s frequency of crime and anti-social behaviour.
The owners have signed a joint letter, co-ordinated by the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce asking for sufficient resources and changes to holdoffenders to account.
Among the owners is Mark Sherry, who has seen staff members accosted by youths, followed through alleyways and abuse being shouted outside his office.
An older female staff member of his was surrounded, poked and threatened by a group of youths earlier in the year, she’s now regularly escorted to the exchange by another staff member.
Sherry’s office overlooks the city mall, he claims to regularly see and hear “vagrants and druggies” shouting and fighting in the streets, stealing from and abusing buskers.
“Events on the day the first cruise ship was back in the city were extremely disturbing and embarrassing,” he said.
Tony Saunders has called for more police presence in the city centre. Photo / Supplied
“Anecdotally we see little police presence in city malls or the surrounding areas. In our opinion, this really should be ramped up.”
Another business owner, Tony Saunders, had his electrical wholesale businesses broken into and ramraided over the last year - the ramraid costing his store $100,000 in damages.
“The whole scenario, staff having to clean up and such - it’s hard on them and hard on us,” he said.
“There has to be a cease-all factor where enough is enough.”
Saunders wants to see harsher penalties put in place for those who commit such offences, along with a heavier police presence to aid the community.
“I think we have gone a bit under the radar, [the Government] talk a lot about Auckland and Hamilton but Christchurch seems to miss the brief.”
The Chamber of Commerce has grown increasingly concerned at the incidences of crime in the region, chief executive Leeann Watson said the chamber and 80 businesses who signed the letter can no longer sit idly.
Chamber chief executive Leeann Watson said the Government’s response to the repeated incidents has been insufficient. Photo / George Heard
“Businesses and residents are being menaced by a continual stream of smash and grabs, leaving staff in a constant state of fear, antisocial behaviour spreading throughout the city centre, and opportunistic and brutal assaults leading to serious harm and sadly, recently, multiple loss of lives,” she said.
Watson said the Government’s response to the repeated incidents has been insufficient.
“While there has been a recent announcement to provide some support for businesses in Auckland, Hamilton, and Bay of Plenty, it does not address the core issue here in Canterbury.
“There seems to be a lack of concern for noncriminal but antisocial behaviour that may ultimately lead to criminal activity down the track.”
The Chamber has made the call for “sufficient resources and changes to ensure those in roles of authority can act”, as well as immediate consequences for those who commit “hideous crimes”.
“We would also like to see a review of the thresholds being applied to what is considered a non-criminal activity,” said Watson,
“[It currently] carries little if any consequences but does have a significant impact on the safety and security of both the business community, residents and visitors to our region.”
