Sandringham Business Association chairperson Jithin Chittibomma. Photo/ RNZ, Matthew Theunissen
By Matthew Theunissen of RNZ
Business owners in Sandringham, Auckland say a recent rise in ram raids and robberies is "getting too scary".
Sandringham Rd's South Asian quarter is one of the jewels in Auckland's crown.
There's a constant buzz of people about - shopping for fresh produce and spices, visiting its bars or eating some of the best curry this side of Kolkata.
But once the shutters have come down and the punters have gone home, it's a different story.
Sandringham Business Association chairman Jithin Chittibomma helps to run his family's liquor store in the village.
"We've counted there were more than 15, 16 incidents including ram raids," he said.
They have all occurred this year in an area smaller than a square kilometre.
Police Minister Poto Williams yesterday announced a $6 million Small Retailer Crime Prevention Fund, which she said would help the retailers install bollards and similar measures to prevent ram raids.
It followed a spate of middle of the night ram raid incidents in the city, some carried out by children as young as 7.
Jithin took RNZ to some of the shops which had been targeted by ram raiders and other criminals in recent months, and who could benefit from the scheme.
First to the Sandringham Superette, which was ram raided on April 7.
Its busted front window was still covered by plyboard while owner Kshitij Vatsa waited for the damage to be fully assessed.
"Still waiting on the insurance, 'cause the damage is a bit higher so they have to take opinions from two, three different companies. So it'll be more than a month's wait for things to be starting to get done."
The ram raiders took off with the till containing $30, and about $200 worth of cigarettes.
The cost of repairing the damage? Around $30,000.
The frequency of these incidents has small business owners like him feeling on edge, he said.
"It's getting a bit too scary with the crime getting increased. I think something like this is happening every day, a couple of places getting ram raided or raided."
A little down the road is a liquor store which was recently ram raided.
The owner didn't want to talk, but he allowed Jithin to explain what had been happening.
"He's been sleeping in the shop to deter the ram raids and break-ins. Since November he's had I believe about six. It's just been horrible for him, he's obviously stressed."
Across the road, a vape shop has been reduced to a single service window surrounded by that familiar plyboard.
Fume owner Subhash Batra said they'd been burgled five times in as many months.
This included two incidents in which he and his business partner were threatened with knives, one robbery involving teenage girls as young as 13.
He believed two other late-night break-ins were carried out by the same group of teenagers.
Batra said insurance companies didn't want to take on small vape stores like his because they were too much of a liability, so he didn't have insurance.
"Damage must be around $30,000. We just have to bear it."
All these business owners welcomed the Government's investment in protecting small businesses from criminals, but they feared it was not going to be enough.
And Jithin worried about what all this crime would mean for his vibrant community.
"It's not just the retailers, it's anywhere with glass door entry. So people are going to have to put up [metal grates]. It's not nice, it's not a good look in a village."
An estimated 500 businesses will likely qualify for the Small Retailer Crime Prevention Fund, which will help owners to install things like fog cannons or bollards outside their shops.
-RNZ
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