Edgecumbe incident 21st ram raid or smash and grab in Eastern Bay this year

Clean up at Riverslea Mall after Tuesday's ram raid. Photo / Troy Baker

By Whakatane Beacon

Riverslea Mall is the latest commercial premises to be severely damaged in what is the 21st ram raid or smash and grab in the Eastern Bay this year – and social media credibility has surfaced as a potential motive behind the crimes.

A stolen Mazda Demio was used to smash through the western entrance of the Edgecumbe mall around 1.10am on Tuesday.

A smash and grab constitutes offenders using an object to smash open the windows or doors of a business, then enter and grab as much as possible before fleeing again.

In Tuesday morning's offending, the three offenders first drove around the bollards from outside the mall's entrance doors, then used the vehicle to break through three barriers to gain entry into the Central Vape store within the mall.

The mall's exterior glass doors were smashed first and the aluminium framing bent and twisted.

Inside the mall doors, a second set of metal security gates were shut, barring the entrance into the central shops. The offenders' vehicle rammed these gates, bending the metal open.

They then continued into the mall, smashing open the glass door to Central Vape.

Several vapes and vaping products were taken, along with a $400 cash float that had been kept in store, Senior Sergeant Al Fenwick said.

Police were not notified of the ram raid until 5am, Fenwick said, but investigations were ongoing using CCTV footage.

Police are appealing for anyone who witnessed a blue Mazda Demio driving through Edgecumbe around 1am Tuesday to get in contact.

The 21 crimes of this nature this year have caused thousands of dollars of damage and mounting insurance issues for local retailers.

Fenwick said the number of ram raids have increased drastically from a few years ago, when one ram raid a year was normal.

"It's come from nothing to now being one of our biggest problems."

The offenders are often juvenile and come from all over the North Island, usually picking up cars from one location, and driving them to another location to commit the crimes.

The stolen Mazda used in Tuesday night's ram raid had been taken from Hamilton on Sunday.

Central Vape was targeted. Photo / Troy Baker

"It seems to be throughout the North Island, with many offenders not from our area. In most of those we have found the offenders and held them to account, but the real damage is done to those businesses who have to foot huge bills or become uninsurable because of the repeat nature of the offending," Fenwick said.

Most of the crimes are not committed because of the desire to steal objects, it is more for the fame and notoriety of doing it – with social media influencing the actions of several young offenders, Fenwick said.

"A lot of it's to do with being able to post on their TikTok or social media what they've done for credibility.

"It's not even like they really care about what they steal, it's more the action of stealing it and getting notoriety amongst their peers. It becomes much harder to come up with a viable solution if they don't even care what they're stealing."

He said the offenders sometimes livestream their burglaries, and some apprehended juveniles admitted that they were doing it for that reason – to share on social media.

The recurring offending "affects the whole community", as the huge bills have meant insurance companies are reluctant to insure businesses, which in turn means the business can't operate, and the Eastern Bay loses more of its economy.

"It is very damaging to our local retailers, some of them would be really badly affected by it in regards to the amount of money they have to pay. The outcomes affect more than just the people directly affected, it affects the whole community," he said.

"That's why it's really important that when people see suspicious behaviour at night, they call it in to 111."

He said the businesses repeatedly targeted are Stirling Sports on The Strand, Rebel Sports at The Hub, jewellery stores and dairies.

Some of the issues also come down to a lack of parental supervision – with some teens as young as 13 or 14 out all night committing crimes, Fenwick said.

"You ask the question, why don't you know where your intermediate or early high school-aged kids are at one o'clock at night? I think that's where we dropped the ball as a society.

"If you knew where your kids were, they wouldn't be out stealing cars and wrecking people's livelihoods."

Police have been working with EPIC Whakatāne and local organisations to find solutions.

Cherie Stevenson, spokeswoman for EPIC Whakatāne Town Centre, said the consistent offending was "terrible", and plans were "in the works" to up security in town.

"It's getting to be pretty stressful for the business owners. Everybody is on edge, security is a real issue, and one we need to address."

EPIC has been working with the Whakatane District Council for a year to find a solution, which included hiring a security consultant last year, who established that better lighting, more security cameras and bollards were among necessary steps to increase security in town.

"The next step is to consult with the businesses about what works best for them, and secure funding to get that in place. The issue is, the longer we leave it the more businesses that are affected," Stevenson said.

Police urge the public to notify police at the first instance of suspicious activity, by calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or dialling 111 if the activity is happening now.