Damage to the dairy on Carruth Rd. Photo / Supplied
Damage to the dairy on Carruth Rd. Photo / Supplied
Months after being declined bollards by Auckland Transport (AT) a dairy owner has had his shop ram-raided causing thousands of dollars in damage.
The son of the dairy owner told the Herald his father had applied for a subsidy from the Crime Prevention Fund several months ago and was declined, as his shop had not yet been targeted by ram raiders.
“Why is it called a prevention fund if you have to wait for it to happen? He was trying to be proactive, but he got declined.”
Last night the dairy on Carruth Rd in Papatoetoe, South Auckland was targeted in an attempted ram raid, where three youths used a car to try and smash through the shop.
“The offenders failed to breach the roller door and have then proceeded to try their hand at smashing their way into the store,” Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Paea said.
“Inquiries remain ongoing into these incidents with enforcement action to follow.”
The destroyed shop front on Carruth Rd. Photo / Supplied
The son said he thinks if the bollards had been in place, the shop might have come away with less damage and he doesn’t understand why his father was not able to access the funds.
“What is the point of adding $4 million into this fund, if we can’t access it? We can’t control these kids or their parents, but we can control the funding – it’s extremely disappointing.”
The man told the Herald there is a sense of anxiety throughout dairy owners following the death of Janak Patel in Sandringham in August.
“After [killed Sandringham dairy worker] Janak Patel everyone is afraid - my dad worries for himself and I worry for him.”
More damage to the store on Carruth Rd. Photo / Supplied
He says there needs to be “some sort of deterrent”.
“Even National’s proposal for boot camps – it goes for the person but it doesn’t go to the root cause.”
Acting head of AT’s central hub Caroline Tauevihi said there had previously been a requirement for stores to receive bollards, however, the agency was now assessing on a case-by-case basis.
“We have approved five in recent weeks and soon to be six. In unclear cases, we do a site visit to discuss the options with the customer,” she said.
“AT is responsible for looking after footpaths, the utility assets underneath them and for the safe installation of work done on footpaths - including bollards - to protect businesses against ram raids.”
While AT generally doesn’t install bollards outside businesses, Tauevihi said a “simplified process” has been introduced where bollards are considered near the front of buildings at the owners’ expense at sites experiencing ram-raiding or repeated vehicle accidents.
“Where we can, we work with business owners to find other alternatives such as planter boxes.”
