Footage from an aggravated robbery at a Curletts Rd dairy in 2016. Photo / Star News
Worcester Discounter Supermarket's owner knows full well the impact robberies can have and she fears for her life every day.
Her dairy on Worcester St is one of the 11 most robbed in Christchurch, latest statistics show.
The dairy has been robbed twice since 2017.
The owner, who does not want to be identified, was not working when the robberies happened. But the staff member who was robbed was so traumatised he quit his job.
She said during the first one, three men armed with a hammer and a knife entered and took about $8000 of cigarettes and cash from the till.
During the second robbery, a male staff member was hit with a hammer. Luckily, he was not injured but he was shaken by the experience.
The owner said she experiences threatening behaviour from customers every day, including verbal abuse and is scared for her safety.
"They are, like, always threatening us," she said.
"They are very threatening to whoever comes in. They are very annoying and they are very scary."
Security has now been upped at the dairy. A fog cannon and second door have been installed to impair robbers' vision and slow them down when they try to enter.
A fog cannon fills stores up with fog until eventually there is no visibility for would-be thieves to see what they want to steal. These also create an opportunity for shop attendants to move to safety if necessary.
The owner has never had to activate the fog cannon in the two years since it was installed.
An Official Information Act request by The Star shows what dairies are on the most robbed list since 2017.
Hagley Night 'n Day, Lincoln Rd Convenience Store and Night 'n Day Woolston top the list with three robberies each.
•Hagley Night 'n Day – 3
•Lincoln Rd Convenience Store – 3
•Night 'n Day Woolston – 3
•Beachcomber Dairy (New Brighton) – 2
•BKD Dairy (Burnside) – 2
•Dallington Discounter – 2
•Harrington Dairy (Riccarton) – 2
•Langdons Rd Food Market (Northcote) – 2
•Riccarton Rd Convenience Store – 2
•Tuam Street Food Centre – 2
•Worcester Discounter Supermarket – 2
There have been 53 dairy robberies in Christchurch since 2017.
Two people have received serious injuries and 19 with minor injuries during the hold-ups.
There were 65 weapons used during these robberies, with the most common being knives and bats. Ten firearms were used.
These robberies resulted in 32 people being arrested.
More than 40 per cent of robberies happened on weekends. The next most popular day was Mondays, with 20.8 per cent.
The most common time when robberies happened is between 6-8pm, with 18 hold-ups. The next most frequent time frame was 7-8am with eight robberies.
Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Johnson said the things most commonly taken during the robberies are cash and cigarettes.
His advice for shopkeepers is to do what they can to protect themselves against robberies by putting in place security measures such as fog cannons, or metal bars around their counters if possible.
He said it is important shopkeepers have a plan for what to do when robberies occur.
"I guess, having a plan in place for both you and your staff would be the first thing. Having thought through, if something like this does occur, what's the best option for me to keep myself and my staff safe?"
Johnson knows some dairy workers arm themselves against robbers but does not recommend using weapons to defend yourself unless absolutely necessary.
He said offenders who carry out robberies can range from youth offenders to experienced criminals but no one group is over-represented.
- Star News