Smash and grab: Robbery at South Auckland jewellery store

Police are currently responding to a robbery at an Auckland jewellery store.

Police are making enquiries into the incident at Christies Watches and Jewellery at Hunters Plaza in Papatoetoe.

Photos of the robbery show display cases smashed open and glass littering the shop floor.

Photo / Supplied

Eight Michael Hill Jeweller stores were among those targeted in robberies in 2021.

Police aim to crack down on "high-profile repeat offending" at retail stores - which is costing stores around a billion dollars a year and becoming increasingly violent - with a new specialised investigation unit launching in the first quarter of this year.

It will primarily be made up of police with specialist staff seconded from within the retail sector and other crime prevention organisations, police said.

"No retail worker or customer should experience fear or trauma when going about their day-to-day activities and the establishment of this unit signals our continued commitment to ensuring everyone can be safe and feel safe," Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said in November.

More to come.