The scene after a violent robbery at the Botte O on Fairy Springs Rd last Sunday. Photo/File
The scene after a violent robbery at the Botte O on Fairy Springs Rd last Sunday. Photo/File
A nationwide campaign is kicking off today targeting people who receive and deal stolen property from aggravated burglaries.
The police campaign - There's nothing good about stolen goods - is in response to the steady stream of aggravated robberies at dairies, service stations and other small retailers.
Police Commissioner MikeBush revealed to the New Zealand Herald that alongside new robbery-specific taskforces and throwing more staff onto foot patrols to thwart thieves, cash rewards would also be offered.
According to police data, 587 aggravated robberies were reported nationwide in January and February this year, compared with 486 during the same period in 2016.
The campaign launch comes soon after the violent robbery of the Bottle O on Fairy Springs Rd last Sunday.
A bottle store worker recieved a deep wound on his head after being struck with a hammer in the violent robbery.
Two youths took a small amount of cash and bottles of alcohol from the shelves before running out of the store.
"Police are deeply concerned about the rise in this violent crime -due to its significant impact on small business owners and their workers and communities," Bush told
A stolen car was used to ram into the front of Springfield Liquor four times to gain entry in March 2016. Photo/File
"Additional police resources have been directed to focus on the increase in aggravated robberies that we have seen recently, with new task forces dedicated to catching offenders, additional staff on patrol and supporting retailers to undertake preventive activities.
"The campaign we're announcing today provides us with another tool to tackle aggravated robberies.
In Auckland a special task force of 20 officers would focus solely on the robberies.
"By targeting those who profit from these crimes by trading in stolen shop and dairy goods such as cigarettes and alcohol, we're aiming to make a serious dent in the opportunity for these crimes to be committed."
Bush said the campaign was part of the police response to the recent spike in the number of violent robberies occurring in some communities across New Zealand, particularly in South Auckland.
As part of the campaign, police will be running a series of targeted ads on social media and on their national and district Facebook pages encouraging people to call Crimestoppers if they have any information on stolen goods from aggravated robberies.
"Crimestoppers is an avenue that police use to enable members of the community to provide information on crimes anonymously, and we encourage anyone who has information which could help us identify offenders to use that option if they are not comfortable contacting their local Police or providing their details to us," Bush said.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush has vowed to 'turn up the heat' on robbers and their associates. Photo/File
"Police will be offering a reward for any information provided to Crimestoppers as part of this stolen goods campaign that leads to a successful prosecution."
To be eligible for a reward, tipsters will need to provide their personal details to Crimestoppers when they call.
The Crimestoppers campaign and associated reward offer will initially run until the end of June.
'This will definitely make a significant difference'
Crime Prevention Group founder Sunny Kaushal said it was "amazing" to see a task force established, with 3 of 6 demands in a memo to law and order authorities now accepted.
"This will definitely make a significant difference to those offenders and improve the much required response time from police when anything happens," he told the Herald.
The Crime Prevention Group's demands to help prevent aggravated robberies were:
The psychological effects of an aggravated robbery had also taken its toll on small business owners and their staff, he said.
"People were coming in and putting a machete on somebody's neck ... it's obviously [having a] psychological effect on the owners.
"They're trying their best to motivate their staff, but the people who have seen these things, like a knife coming to his neck - his life was just a few seconds away [from ending]," he said, referring to the Kingsford Superette aggravated robbery.
Kaushal said a realistic target to determine if the task force was having a significant impact in reducing violent robberies was 2 months.
A nationwide petition is also still being signed to go before parliament.
