More violent retail crime is happening more often, MPs have heard as a group representing retailers advocates for stronger consequences for offenders and a larger police presence.
Police Minister Ginny Andersen claims ram raids are continuing to trend downwards, despite a 24 per cent increase in numbers from February to March.
Members of the Justice Select Committee today heard submissions from various parties on youth crime trends, including Retail NZ chief executive Greg Harford.
Harford, whose organisation represented about 70 per cent of retailers, said perpetrators were becoming more brazen and violent in committing crimes such as ram raids, aggravated burglaries and shoplifting - a view informed by anecdotal evidence from members and a recent survey of their members.
“Retail crime is a massive issue, it’s escalating significantly over time, it’s becoming more violent, it’s becoming more aggressive,” Harford told MPs.
“It’s getting worse and the problem is, I think for many people in the community, seeing retail crime or taking part in retail crime has become socially acceptable.”
He also said comments made during court cases and family group conferences, where offending was discussed, indicated youth offenders were being encouraged or directed by older family members in committing crimes.
“That’s really, really worrying because we think it reinforces the message that it’s socially acceptable to steal or to abuse people,” Harford said.
He stressed that retail crime was not solely committed by youth but youth who did offend often did so for notoriety among their peers.
The level of crime was having a significant impact on insurance for retailers. About 85 per cent of Retail NZ’s members reported they were under-insured or not insured at all, according to public affairs and policy advice manager Aimie Hines.
Harford referenced one retailer whose insurance premiums had risen from $2000 a year to $30,000 as a result of the crime they had experienced.
Harford repeated his call for the Government to initiate a nationwide campaign to reinforce appropriate social behaviour, along with advocating for a larger police presence on the streets and lowering the age at which youths were held responsible for their actions.
Dairy and Business Owners Group chairman Sunny Kaushal appeared virtually before the select committee and advocate for reform to the Crimes Act to make parents responsible for crimes committed by their children if they were under 18.
He also gave a stern warning to MPs about the risk posed to retailers, citing the death of Janak Patel last year at an Auckland dairy.
“You don’t want our blood on your hands,” Kaushal said.
Start Taranaki - a 20-week programme for recidivist youth offenders that focused on connecting teenagers 14-18 with their environment - told the committee progress was rarely achieved through punishment but instead through understanding youths’ complex backgrounds that informed their behaviour.
Practice manager Sam Galloway cited one teenage boy, who had witnessed and attempted suicide in his youth, who had been excluded from school but had a “significant brain injury” that hadn’t been shared with the Ministry of Education until his organisation advocated on his behalf.
In the House yesterday, , Andersen said: “While the spike in ram raids continues to trend down, it is vital as a Government we continue to support retailers through crime prevention and that is exactly what we are doing.”
Recently released data from police showed 51 ram raids took place in March nationally, up 24 per cent from the 41 in February.
Andersen’s comment was in reference to the 65 per cent decrease observed between August last year and February this year.
There were 116 ram raids in August - the highest monthly total since 2017. It was also around the time when Labour invested in programmes tasked with identifying and engaging with recidivist youth offenders.
Andersen’s statement did not acknowledge the most recent data and also didn’t acknowledge that ram raids had increased more than 500 per cent since 2018.
“Last year, we saw a spike in ram raids and other retail crime, and that was having a real impact on our communities,” she told the Herald.
“While it’s not uncommon to see the monthly numbers move a little, there’s a clear trend down since August 2022.”
National police spokesman Mark Mitchell said Andersen’s representation of the data and Harford’s submission showed she was “completely out of touch”.
“We don’t like counting numbers or using numbers but that’s what they’re doing, they’re cherry-picking numbers.”