Ram raiders in Remuera have taken alcohol and cash in a brazen robbery. Video / supplied
ANALYSIS
Labour has claimed today that ram raids have hit a two-year low, while the National Party has fired back saying the party is gaslighting victims of the thefts.
Labour’s police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said police data shows monthly ram raids have hit a two-year low, after National Party leader Christopher Luxon claimed there are two ram raids a day.
“Christopher Luxon and National are more interested in stoking fear through misinformation than they are in providing solutions. Luxon’s false claim has already been called out ... and is now being shown wrong, for a third month in a row, by police data,” Andersen said.
The number of ram raids per month is now at the lowest since September 2021, Andersen said.
“Since becoming Police Minister in March, I’ve focused on tackling the ram raid problem and these efforts are starting to turn a corner with the lowest number of ram raids per month in two years.”
A ram raid burglary at the Liquor Centre in Greenhithe, Auckland in May. Photo / Hayden Woodward
Andersen said police data shows a 70 per cent reduction in ram raids from their peak of 116 a month in August 2022.
National Party police spokesperson Mark Mitchell disputed that and claimed Anderson was not showing the full picture.
“Ginny Andersen’s attempt to gaslight the victims of the tsunami of ram raids shows just how out of touch she is with those on the frontline,” Mitchell said.
“Dairy and retail business owners have been facing a 533 per cent increase in ram raids between the year to August 2018 and the year to August 2023.
“Victims of crime have lost so much faith in the Government that they are refusing to meet with her because she has failed to take any meaningful action,” Mitchell said.
Who’s right?
Police data shows 35 ram raids were recorded in August 2023, that’s the lowest since September 2021 when there were 24 ram raids recorded.
So, Andersen is correct; August had the lowest number of ram raids in two years.
Mitchell’s percentage is more difficult to understand. Up until last year, police said there were relatively few ram raids reported on an annual basis.
The Tobys Seafoods store in Glen Eden was damaged in a ram raid earlier this year. Photo / Hayden Woodward
Prior to 2021, ram raids made up less than 0.2 per cent of all burglaries and were not well characterised in police databases.
Police said ram raids began to increase in prevalence in 2021, reaching a peak in August 2022. Those 116 ram raids made up 0.36 per cent of the 31,975 crimes reported that month.
Commercial premises were only added to the ram raid statistics by police in January 2023, because of an increasing number happening to places such as jewellers and big-box commercial stores.
“Recent analysis of data from the 2022 year showed that approximately 12 per cent of retail burglaries, and 2 per cent of commercial burglaries, mentioned a ram raid had occurred as part of the incident report,” police said.
The inclusion of commercial premises in the statistics increased the total number reported by about 30 per cent, police said, but had not significantly changed the trends.
