Police Minister Ginny Andersen visits four-time ram raided Auckland dairy

Police Minister Ginny Anderson has paid a surprise visit to an Auckland dairy hit by repeat ram raids in recent months.

Yesterday Andersen, accompanied by a high-powered delegation including the city’s top police officer, visited Coronation Superette on the North Shore which has been targeted four times by destructive raids this year.

Dairy owner Dharmesh Jeram told the Herald meeting the newly appointed minister in person gave him encouragement and showed him that they were not being neglected by the government.

“She said they were working on something and that things would get better. She told me about security measures we could access like bollards. We told her what’s been happening, and shared our frustrations with her.

“We told her that the whole community was concerned and that community help was the only thing getting us over the line.”

Coronation Superette on Auckland's North Shore has been ram raided four times in the past months. Photo / Hayden Woodward

Jeram said the minister was understanding and “quite down to earth.

“She is a humble person. It felt like she was not just visiting for the sake of it. She was actually listening to us. She gave us encouragement.

“This is what is required in this day and age.

“It felt like we were not being neglected.

“Hopefully the government will be working on something behind the scenes.”

Andersen was accompanied by local MP Shanan Halbert, the Police Area Commander, a detective in charge and a staff member of the Police retail crime programme unit, he said.

Police Minister Ginny Andersen paid a visit to an Auckland dairy ram raided four times in recent months. Photo / Supplied

Andersen said she regularly had meetings with a variety of retail store owners to discuss their experiences to get direct feedback on how the government could continue supporting them.

“The current level of retail crime we’re experiencing is utterly unacceptable. I remain committed to working with the police to ensure retailers continue to feel supported.”

Andersen said she had received overwhelmingly positive feedback from retailers on their experiences with the Retail Crime Prevention Programme and the Fog Cannon Subsidy Scheme which “they say make them feel safer and are helping to deter crime”.

But there was definitely more work to do and “I remain committed to getting on top of this problem”, she said.

The minister is scheduled to meet the Dairy and Business Owners Group in Auckland in early July.

In November last year the Labour government announced new measures to combat rising retail crime which included a fog cannon subsidy scheme open to all small shops and dairies in New Zealand.

The announcement came days after the murder of Sandringham shopkeeper Janak Patel.

Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at the time while youth crime “is now much lower than in the past, the risks and harm from ram raids and other retail crime is concerning communities and creating victims.

“Shop owners and workers feel targeted. That’s unacceptable.

“Police are having a noticeable impact on offending rates, with ram raids during November down by 83 per cent compared with August – 13 so far this month against a high of 75 in August. But we need to lock that progress in and sustain it,” Ardern said.

“The initiatives we’re announcing today make this the most significant crime prevention financial package in recent memory.

“It backs up Police actions, through funding to support crime prevention initiatives, such as better street lighting and cameras and by investing in more fog cannons.”