Full-time security guards are now working at McDonald's on Fenton St.
McDonald's Fenton St has hired full-time security guards to protect staff and customers from unruly people believed to be homeless.
It comes as a Rotorua security firm boss reports three new security companies have set up in the two years since CBD motels began being used as emergency and transitional housing, and says his business has had more people in the area seeking to increase their protection.
McDonald's franchise owner Rob Parry said his last straw was a person kicking in windows at McDonald's Fenton St last week. He decided to employ full-time security guards.
"We had to do something, we can't put our staff in harm's way so we have now contracted professionals on site."
McDonald's franchise owner Rob Parry. Photo / Kelly Makiha
Parry said he wished he didn't have to pay the added cost but staff and customer safety came first.
"We've had people getting abused in the drive-thru and beggars and it's not a lot of fun. I hope I don't have to do it forever but the reality is we have to make ourselves a harder target."
While he acknowledged he didn't know where specifically the people causing the problems had come from, he believed the problems had arisen since the influx of homeless people into emergency housing in the CBD.
In response, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development spokesman Tony Wallace said he was concerned to hear about the situation at McDonald's.
However, he could not comment further without knowing if those responsible had come from any of the motels contracted by the ministry in the area.
Watchdog Security chief executive Brett Wilson. Photo / Andrew Warner
Watchdog Security chief executive Brett Wilson said he knew of three security companies in Rotorua that did not exist two years ago, before emergency housing escalated.
Wilson understood those companies mainly dealt with the security around the motels.
He said his company was fielding a lot of inquiries and gaining business from commercial premises in the central city trying to keep themselves safe and residential property owners wanting home security systems and cameras.
He said his staff had now been employed at McDonald's fulltime.
Wilson said he was born and bred in Rotorua and while any company wanted business, this was not the way he wanted it to happen.
Ellen-Jane Tahitahi MacPherson and Hemi Peni are among the full-time security guards now working at McDonald's on Fenton St. Photo / Ben Fraser
While commercial inquiries had increased particularly during the past two weeks from business owners concerned about beggars and shoplifters, calls for service in the Glenholme area had picked up during the past two years, mainly from people wanting security cameras.
He said thefts from cars were the most common offences.
"I was talking to one guy the other day who lives in Glenholme who has had his car broken into seven times in the past two years."
Wilson said an increase in out-of-town "problematic people" living in Rotorua's emergency housing hadn't helped.
"Relocating problematic people from other locations has without doubt added to our crime problems to the detriment of our own community."
A Ministry of Social Development report, released in May, revealed nearly a third of those in emergency housing were not from Rotorua.
The ministry then repeated assurances that the "vast majority" of people in Rotorua emergency housing are from the city, a nearby town, or have links to Rotorua.
Restore Rotorua chairman Trevor Newbrook. Photo / Andrew Warner
Restore Rotorua chairman Trevor Newbrook said the council has had to increase its community safety funding by $500,000 a year in the Long-term Plan, including wanting to increase patrols and CCTV cameras in Rotorua's central city and the Fenton St area.
"Now Rotorua has reached the point where businesses are having to employ security staff.
''This is not a good look."
He described it as a "sad indictment" of what the Government had done to Rotorua.
"The huge number of emergency housing motels in this area and the cumulative effects of that needs to be addressed now.
"Restore Rotorua is very concerned about the safety of local people but also about tourism and how safe visitors to Rotorua or prospective visitors feel."
In response, Wallace said the ministry would continue to engage with the council, community organisations, government agencies including the police and the Ministry of Social Development to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of clients, workers and the public.
