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Auckland businesses want greater police presence and greater punishment for offenders as a majority feel crime is on the rise, a survey has found.
A Restaurant Association member survey found 77 per cent of Auckland businesses noticing a rise in general crime in their area over the past six months.
That same percentage said they would like to see a greater police presence in the city centre and 73 per cent wanted greater punishments for repeat offenders.
This follows reports of violent robberies specifically targeting food in Auckland that have led to community leaders expressing concerns and calls for a greater police presence.
“First my thoughts are with those who have been victims of these crimes, the business owners and the teams working in these businesses that are also impacted,” said association chief executive Marisa Bidois.
“It is horrendous being confronted with this kind of violent and antisocial behaviour. The stress of living through the pandemic coupled with the current cost of living challenges as well as other contributing factors are having an impact, but this is no excuse for this type of crime whatsoever.”
Marisa Bidois, CEO of the Restaurant Association. Photo / Supplied
A man was attacked for his burger meal in Mission Bay and another for his takeaway dinner on Hobson St in two separate incidents last Friday, while on Sunday a bread van was robbed in St Heliers.
In another violent incident, a visitor to Auckland suffered a broken jaw after he was attacked while collecting his Uber Eats meal outside the Sudima Hotel in central Auckland.
Bidois said increasing crime levels will impact customers’ willingness to head out “especially if they don’t even feel safe picking up an order.
“It may be the thing that makes them decide not to head into the city to pick up a takeaway,” she said.
In an online survey conducted by the association, most wanted to see more being done around crime.
Three in four Auckland businesses wanted greater police presence in the city centre. Photo / Hayden Woodward
The survey found that two in five businesses are looking for funding for security systems and more than a third wanted more security patrols.
Bidois said the association has met with officials, ministers and police and felt more needed to be done as the number of serious incidents continues to rise.
“There has been an increase in crime experienced by our members ... 77 per cent in Auckland and 62 per cent nationwide said they had noticed an increase in general crime in their area over the past six months,” Bidois said.
The association has been running targeted training aimed at empowering businesses including working with police and running training sessions with a focus on crisis management, conflict resolution and emergency preparedness.
A delivery van belonging to The Daily Bread was robbed on Sunday. Photo / Supplied
“However the responsibility should not fall solely on the shoulders of our business owners,” Bidois said.
“We cannot ask our businesses, some of whom have already taken steps to hire their own security due to a number of incidents, to deal with violent offenders.”
Police told the Herald two people had been arrested and had appeared in court but they are not aware of a growing trend of takeaway delivery drivers or customers being targeted.
However, they encouraged anyone who has concerns for their safety to call police immediately on 111.
Community leader and Buttabean Motivation charity boss Dave Letele believed the rise in this type of crime directly co-relates to the “increase in poor, desperate people”.
Hospitality New Zealand chief executive Steve Armitage said it was concerning to hear about the cases and will be monitoring the trend.
Viv Beck, chief executive of Heart of the City, is also calling for a greater police presence and a return of the downtown police station.
Lincoln Tan specialises in covering stories around diversity and immigration. He’s been a journalist at the Herald since 2006.
