Ram raids in Whangārei keep business owners awake at night

A spate of ram raids has Northland businesses holding their breath worrying about who will be next.

Police confirmed two Whangārei outdoor adventure gear stores were targeted in ram raids over Matariki weekend alone.

Kathmandu Whangārei was hit on Saturday at around 10.15pm when a vehicle was used to force entry into the business on James St.

Five hours later a vehicle ploughed into the storefront of Torpedo7 Whangārei store in Okara Park.

Vehicles appeared to have dodged the metal bollards without leaving a mark on the metal before smashing into the front of the store.

The offenders then fled the scene in three vehicles.

Trolleys block the entry to Torpedo7 Whangārei after it was ram raided. Photo / Jaime Lyth

The Advocate approached staff about the ram raids, however, they directed inquiries to their head offices which are yet to respond.

The raid on Torpedo 7, which opened at the end of April, is the fourth in the city in the past month.

Earlier this month Whangārei Liquorland was hit overnight ram on June 16 less than two weeks after a stolen car was purposefully smashed through the entrance of Graeme Johnson Jewels and Time in Kamo.

The ram raids follow dozens of others nationwide with many in Auckland gaining widespread media attention - in particular three that occurred within 24 hours.

The store front of Kathmandu Whangārei remained boarded up on Monday after a ram raid on Saturday night. Photo / Jaime Lyth

Whangārei Reduced to Clear manager Jerry Horsfall has rostered more staff on to the first and last day shifts because of concerns of theft and ram raids.

"It's costing us a lot more money but it's about making sure our staff are safer."

Horsfall said his business might be less at risk because it doesn't sell high-value items like cigarettes or alcohol.

However, he wondered if it was a "matter of time" before his business became victim to a ram raid.

"Even with the news of the knife attack in Auckland, it's a concern for myself and the safety of my staff."

Horsfall is concerned that people will begin to take things into their own hands if they feel the perpetrators are getting off lightly.

"On Facebook feeds there's a lot of vigilante talk and it's not good for anybody."

In April, assistant commissioner Richard Chambers said police national intelligence shows 88 per cent of offenders are under 20 years old, with the majority under 17.

While youth crime overall has been decreasing consistently, ram raid style offences are dominated by youths.

"As a clear youth offending issue, this is wider than Police," Chambers said in April.

A Whangārei CBD business owner, who the Advocate has chosen not to name, said ram raids were a concern at the forefront of their mind.

"It's one of my worst nightmares to get a call in the middle of the night saying your business has been hit."

The business owner strategically lays out their store to try to eliminate theft during open hours but said the threat of a car smashing through the shop in the early morning feels indefensible.

"You can't do much if it's done at night time."

The owner noted that ram raids have been occurring across Northland for years, such as the Global Diamonds jewellery shop ram raid in 2019.

"It's getting more brazen, but is it getting more often? I don't know."

Global Diamonds on Cameron St was ram raided overnight in February 2019. Photo / John Stone

Last month, the Government announced a $6 million support package for shop owners to help protect themselves from ram raids by installing bollards or other protective structures.

The package would also allow for security measures such as fog cannons, security screens and alarms.

The Advocate approached police for further comment but they didn't respond by the deadline.

Anyone with any information on the ram raids can contact police on 105 or they can call anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.