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Home / New Zealand

Michael Hill will begin using DNA tracking spray to combat brazen robberies, ram raids

NZ Herald
6 Oct, 2022 02:44 AM4 mins to read

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Footage of the robbery shows loud bangs as thieves smash the Michael Hill Jeweller store. Video / Supplied

Michael Hill will be heightening security measures, including using DNA tracking spray, in stores across New Zealand in response to a spate of robberies and smash and grabs that have targeted its stores.

Daniel Bracken, Michael Hill CEO, said he shares the concern of many New Zealand citizens and is appalled by the attacks, particularly the daytime smash and grabs in Hamilton and Albany.

"In consultation with the New Zealand Police, we have significantly increased our security and protection protocols to ensure that we are doing everything possible to protect our team members and customers," he said today.

Part of the security process is fitting all stores with a DNA tracking spray mechanism to help identify and apprehend the criminals involved.

DNA spray technology can be activated by store staff and released as a shower of liquid during a robbery. Traces of the solution, which is invisible and harmless, can be taken from offenders' skin, hair and clothing to prove they were at a specific store.

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The DNA solution remains on a person for several weeks, clinging to fibres and in creases of the skin.

Other security measures being implemented include security guards at stores, fog cannons and alarm screamers, additional security cameras in and around stores, personal alarms for staff and extra security measures at night.

Bracken said the company is also continuing to offer counselling support to team members and customers involved in the robberies.

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Rob Fyfe, Michael Hill chairman, said the frequency of increasingly brazen attacks was reaching a level where some businesses are forced to permanently close.

"In attacking our stores, these thieves not only rob us of our products, but they rob our staff and customers of the right to feel safe as they move about our stores and shopping centres," Fyfe maintained.

"It's unacceptable that our staff and customers now live with this constant threat of attack."

Fyfe also spoke to NewstalkZB this evening, explaining his frustration with the court process and how young offenders are seemingly getting away with crimes due to mitigating factors and "family circumstances."

He maintained that the use of the DNA spray will help accelerate the process of catching the offenders, but to actually stop the crime wave, "offenders must fear the consequences of their actions."

Fyfe also said he had just returned from a multi-country holiday and "there is nowhere he feels less safe than in a shopping mall in New Zealand."

"You are constantly looking over your shoulder for the next person with an axe or a machete," Fyfe told Heather du Plessis-Allan.

Last Friday, a group of balaclava-wearing men ran into the Westfield Albany mall and used weapons to smash cabinets at the Michael Hill Jeweller store.

A witness said they heard a loud bang near the food court just before 7pm, then saw "hundreds of people" running out of the mall in fear.

Last month, at least seven masked and armed robbers were seen smashing glass cabinets and taking items from Michael Hill Jewellers at The Base, Te Rapa.

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One worker, whose store is very close to Michael Hill, was so traumatised that they could not bring themselves to say what happened, saying it was too soon.

Another, who travels between stores across the country, says dealing with retail burglaries has become her new normal.

"This is not the first time this has happened to our team which is really sad," she said.

A police spokesperson said they acknowledged the robberies at some shopping centres during opening hours recently have "rightly caused concern among the community".

"Police work with management and retailers at shopping centres across our cities on a regular and ongoing basis, providing advice to help keep their stores secure," police said.

Bracken said he is thankful to the New Zealand police for their ongoing support and protection and will continue working closely with them on monitoring activity and guidance. He maintained police are making significant progress in successfully apprehending the majority of the offenders involved

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Late last month, police arrested 14 young people after a spate of commercial aggravated robberies in Auckland and Waikato.

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