We are facing a crime crisis and it is time to get real - Mark Knoff-Thomas

A police officer inside the Michael Hill in Newmarket after it was hit by thieves in the early hours of one morning. Photo / Hayden Woodward

OPINION

Three years ago we started to raise the alarm about an apparent “Covid crime wave” that we had noticed in Newmarket and other parts of the city.

We had seen a sudden spike in retail theft and anti-social behaviour. The nature of the retail theft had changed and had become more aggressive, and the behaviour on some of the streets had turned more unpredictable and violent.

Then two years ago we banded together with several other business associations and wrote an open letter to then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. We asked for a more co-ordinated, pan-government agency strategy to address the rise in crime and anti-social behaviour across Auckland, and other parts of the country.

Our main request was in three specific areas: an increase in police resourcing and visibility in city and town centres; a more co-ordinated approach to emergency housing; and better wrap-around services for mental health and addiction.

Fast forward to mid-2023, almost three years since we first started to make some noise about these issues, and things have continued to worsen.

Police at the scene of a ram raid in Newmarket, Auckland, overnight. Photo / Hayden Woodward

Ask almost anyone in the street, workplace or neighbourhood, and people are talking about crime and our current state of affairs as a country. From a retail crime perspective, the Government argues it has established a Retail Crimes Unit and forked out millions in minimising ram raids and smash and grabs by funding bollards and fog cannons.

These measures are very last resort, “ambulance at the bottom of the cliff” stuff.

The Government also argues it has “delivered 1800 new police”. The way in which police are focused continues to distract them from the frontline.

There is work to be done here. We could follow the UK’s example and free police from dealing with mental health issues. This gap could and should be filled by Te Whatu Ora.

Also, when one police jurisdiction gets tough, all that seems to happen is the issues get displaced to another area.

To be fair, in Newmarket we are blessed - our police, in the Auckland East Area and city, are superb. They are well co-ordinated and achieve a lot with what resources they do have.

Police bosses, however, claiming that crime isn’t up but reporting is up are very much at odds with the lived experience faced on the streets, especially by small business owners and security officers.

One of our town centre patrol officers, Ray, has been patrolling our streets for almost eight years. He’s never seen it this bad.

Speak to any retailer, especially the smaller ones who now keep their doors locked during trade hours: it’s never been this bad. This country is facing a crime crisis, especially around youth crime.

Criminal youth activity, coupled with the extraordinarily high levels of school truancy rates, means we are sitting ducks for years of continued social disorder and crime.

This city is in danger of losing its status as an international destination. Do we want our tourists bearing witness to violent beatings as they step off cruise ships? Do we want people barricaded in cafes in central suburbs because someone is having a rampage with a hammer and smashing things up?

Do we want shoppers in the afternoon witnessing smash and grabs from jewellers in shopping malls?

Do we want to see cars racing down the wrong side of the road through busy town centres on the run from police mid-afternoon?

It all beggars belief.

Over the past three years, the passive response from Wellington, the deflection, and lack of ownership of issues that are impacting New Zealanders every day, to my mind is outrageous.

However, all the main Opposition party has is “boot camps”.

Boot camps may work, but only if the participants are never returned to their former situations and are allowed to flourish in a new environment away from negative influences. It’s hardly practical and there is limited data to support their success.

Mark Knoff-Thomas. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Expand and ramp up programmes that work like Te Pae Oranga, get an “army” of truancy officers on the streets asking youths tough questions during school hours (looking at you Oranga Tamariki and the Ministry of Education); and get the parents and wider whānau involved (looking at you, Ministry of Social Development).

The police cannot continue to mop up for every other agency that is not pulling its weight. If laws need changing to allow this to happen, change the damned laws. Both major political parties need a serious reality check and some fresh ideas.

This issue should not be a political ideological toy to be played with. This stuff really matters.

This country is beautiful, it is rich in so many ways. But our politicians are disrespecting it, and us.

We need bi-partisan agreement and strategies for the short, medium and long term that will bring tangible improvements.

So, Prime Minister, as our letter in the NZ Herald recently asked, please deliver action to keep our city and town centres safe and appealing to locals and visitors.

And to all politicians: it’s not about scoring political points, it’s about public safety and peoples’ livelihoods.

- Mark Knoff-Thomas is CEO of the Newmarket Business Association.