Rod and Jannine Pearce of Te Puke and Rotorua Jewellers have had their business in Te Puke targeted yet again.
Jewellers whose two stores have been targeted by thieves eight times in 18 months say crime has cost them more than $200,000 and their sense of safety - but they will not give up on their businesses.
They say the latest attempted break-in at their Te Puke store yesterday was “another kick in the ass”, with “horrific” footage showing a group’s violent attempt to smash through their front window, despite it displaying nothing “worth stealing”.
Rod Pearce and his wife Jannine Pearce, who own Te Puke Jewellers and Rotorua Jewellers, were woken around 3.30am by their security company who said the alarm had been activated by broken glass.
Rod said footage showed a car drive on to the footpath in what he believed was an attempt to ram-raid the store that was stopped by a bollard in the way.
“Four of them laid into the front window with glass-break hammers, full on, and then shoulder charged the window... luckily they didn’t get in,” Rod said.
He said at least four offenders ran off when the store’s alarm went off. The security team saw people flee in a vehicle that was later found dumped on Quarry Rd. They took off in another stolen vehicle. Police confirmed this.
Rod said watching the video back was “horrific”.
“It’s given me a fright to know how serious these guys were.”
He said the products in the window were low value and “not worth stealing”.
Damage at Te Puke Jewellers following an attempted burglary on Wednesday morning. Photo / Stuart Whitaker
“What are you numpties doing trying to break in to get nothing… they don’t care. It’s all fun and excitement.”
The couple were suspicious of a young man who visited the store the day before the break-in and was “asking stupid questions and looking at all the cameras”.
Rod estimated the damage would cost up to $7000 to repair and while the shop was secure and did not need to close, the damage could take up to a week to be repaired.
He said they were likely going to have to foot most of the bill themselves, agreeing with his wife who said, “our insurance doesn’t like us anymore”.
The couple said the attempted break-in was the first this year, but followed seven burglaries or attempted burglaries last year between their two Bay of Plenty stores.
“It’s just hard to take, it just keeps coming,” he said.
“We never feel safe, and that’s just the fact, unfortunately.”
Over the last year and a half, they had increased security at the businesses “a lot,” he said.
“It’s a burden you have to take on and it doesn’t make a difference to your insurance company who keeps putting the premiums up... which are pretty substantial now.”
Both stores now have roller doors and fog canons, and the Te Puke store has bollards in front. The businesses paid for the bollard and one roller gate, the rest was through government schemes.
There were other measures Pearce did not want to be made public for safety reasons.
“It affects our business ... this year was going to be our recovery year, but now we have another kick in the ass with another $7000 that we probably have to front most of it ourselves.”
Rod and Jannine Pearce from Rotorua Jewellers. Their Te Puke store got broken into on Wednesday morning. Photo / Andrew Warner
The couple worked out that all of the hidden costs of the incidents last year amounted to more than $200,000.
This included lost revenue while the shops were shut, loss of personal earnings, paying for repairs they couldn’t claim insurance for and security upgrades, insurance excesses, and lost stock they weren’t able to replace, he said.
“We’re not rich, we’re just wage-earners trying to have a crack.
“We love our job, we love our service, we love what we do for our customers... but it’s stressful,” Rod said.
“If you’re fearful you can’t be in this business, but we’re very aware of the risks in the daytime that are possible.”
Despite everything, they weren’t considering leaving the business and had “amazing” community support.
“We’re not scared... we’re just a bit unsettled.”
A police spokesman said police received a report of a burglary on Jellicoe St at 3.48am.
Police confirmed a hammer, or similar object, was used to try to enter the building, and at least four people were seen fleeing the scene in a vehicle that was found dumped on Quarry Rd.
