Rotorua Jewellers owners Rod and Jannine Pearce after their shop was ram raided last month. Photo / Andrew Warner
Rotorua Jewellers owners Rod and Jannine Pearce after their shop was ram raided last month. Photo / Andrew Warner
Seven Bay of Plenty retailers will get a slice of a $6 million fund to beef up their defences against ram raids with fog cannons, bollards and other security measures.
It comes six months after the Small Retailer Crime Prevention Fund was announced in May to help small business ownershit by ram raids.
To date, no equipment has been provided to Bay businesses. But an Official Information Act request has revealed police are waiting on quotes from suppliers for seven retailers.
Police said they were identifying eligible small business retailers by analysing data on ram raids and speaking with owners. Solutions could include installing a fog cannon, siren, alarm, roller doors, solid planter boxes or bollards.
The $6m fund is part of the Retail Crime Prevention Programme and is paid for from the Proceeds of Crime Fund.
Te Puke store owners targeted twice by ram raids this year said they would be "thankful" for any security equipment as installing anything on their own would cost "thousands".
Te Puke Jewellers Jannine and Rod Pearce did not wish to reveal if they were one of the seven businesses talking to police about the funding.
Their Te Puke store had been broken into twice in six months. Their Rotorua Jewellers store was also hit three times in the same period.
Jannine Pearce said their Rotorua store was the worst hit and, financially, it was "borderline" whether they would have to close it.
They were a "business on the brink", she said, but more protection would encourage them to stay open.
The store already had a good camera and alarm system but it did not stop offenders from "driving a car through the roof".
Hans Kraenzlin, owner of Tauranga cafe Folk Brewers. Photo / Mead Norton
Hans Kraenzlin's Tauranga cafe Folk Brewers was broken into last weekend and the businessman warned others to stay vigilant and invest in cameras and alarms to deter thieves.
Kraenzlin said someone used a paving stone to smash the shop window about 1am on Saturday, and steal the till containing about $200.
He arrived at the shop only 15 minutes after the alarm was triggered.
Kraenzlin suggested business owners leave tills open, with no cash inside, to deter thieves.
"You wouldn't leave a handbag in your front seat of the car."
He was aware of three other incidents of the same nature over the same weekend.
"Something needs to be done to bring people to justice."
Police received a report of a commercial burglary at a Durham St address about 12.50am on Sunday, and were making inquiries.
Tauranga Business Chamber chief executive Matt Cowley said retailers were cautious about taking on more debt to fund "expensive security installations" as consumer spending tightened with the rising cost of living.
Tauranga Business Chamber chief executive Matt Cowley. Photo / Mead Norton
"The emotional strain and the operators and their staff is accumulating as the perceived threat of crime appears to be escalating."
Rotorua MP Todd McClay said, in his view, it was the Government's fault police were making "slow progress" in distributing security equipment.
McClay said while well-resourced frontline policing was "most important", small businesses being repeatedly targeted by ram raids and robberies needed protection "urgently".
"They announced the amount of money but there was no criteria as to how it would be used or around decision making - and they have left it to the police to work out whilst they are... trying to deal with a significant increase in crime.
"The faster we can get the resources around protecting these businesses out there then crime will drop. You can't ram raid a shop when it has been protected - and for these businesses it is imperative."
Information released under the Official Information Act showed no security equipment had been provided to Bay businesses under the small retailer fund, but police expected that to change in the "coming weeks".
Police staff were completing assessments of retailers' security needs and identifying appropriate solutions, the written statement said.
They were waiting on quotes from suppliers for seven Bay businesses to provide them with "necessary" security equipment, including bollards, fog cannons, alarms, sound bars, roller doors, cameras or planter boxes.
Police were working "at pace" to "advance" the programme as soon as possible.
Some 34 fog cannons had been supplied to retailers nationwide through other initiatives, with two given to Bay businesses.
Bay of Plenty district commander Superintendent Tim Anderson.
Bay of Plenty district commander Superintendent Tim Anderson said police understood the "frustration and stress" business owners were experiencing.
"The community can be reassured that not only are police actively investigating, but we are also working with partners to address the root causes of why this offending is happening."
As of October 27, 187 stores nationwide had been contacted by the Retail Prevention Crime Programme staff.
Of those, 104 had completed a police assessment and 71 had been allocated to a supplier for protective equipment to be installed.
Seven retailers in New Zealand have already had protective equipment installed and a further 64 sites were underway.
Police Minister Chris Hipkins said the Government had increased frontline police in the Bay by 108 "over and above attrition", which was an increase of more than 16 per cent since 2017.
"I'm advised that fog cannons have been installed at several businesses in Bay of Plenty as part of our programme to roll out 1000 fog cannons across the country," he said.
