How police faked car crimes in hunt for women who sparked a lockdown, long weekend ram-raids shock the public and Italy go far right in the latest NZ Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald
Four offenders brandishing weapons attacked a Rotorua dairy worker in an early morning robbery before fleeing in a stolen car with an estimated $5000 worth of goods.
Police have appealed for information after the incident that took place at Fenton Park Dairy on Gibson St around 7.30am on Tuesday.
The attacked staff member, who yesterday spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear the offenders would return, was alone when four "guys" armed with hammers and knives "barged" into the shop.
"I was in the back working. They came straight to the back and attacked me."
He said it happened so fast, he did not have time to think or feel.
The offenders were in the store for "a good minute and a half" before "shooting off" in what was later revealed by police to be a stolen vehicle.
While a formal assessment of what was stolen still needed to be done, the staff member estimated between $4000 and $5000 worth of product was taken.
"Cigarettes are expensive, you know?"
Once the offenders had gone, the staff member pulled himself off the floor and called police. He suffered bruises and a scrape to his forehead from the incident.
On Tuesday, Detective Sergeant Richard Lang told the Rotorua Daily Post the offenders reportedly left the scene in a stolen vehicle.
The vehicle was later abandoned near Devon St.
"Our inquiries into the robbery are ongoing, including establishing exactly what was taken and identifying and locating those responsible," Lang said.
Anyone with information was asked to contact police on 105 or Crime Stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
As of 6pm yesterday, police had made no arrests and inquiries were ongoing.
It comes after frustrated and "broken" Rotorua small business owners met together last month to express their feelings and gauge how the police, council and central government were responding to local crime.
One business owner, who also remained anonymous out of fear of bringing attention to his already targetted store, warned of vigilantism and expected worn-out and stressed business owners would soon take matters into their own hands.
A recent police report showed the Bay of Plenty had the second-highest number of ram raids in New Zealand in the year to October. The 19 per cent share was second only to Waikato's 27 per cent.
It was expected the conversations would be reviewed and the findings form the basis of another meeting to be held at a later date.
Meanwhile, a "distressing" report has revealed crime and police callouts around emergency housing in Rotorua have risen significantly over the past three years.
In May, MP Poto Williams, who was Police Minister at the time, announced a $6m crime prevention programme. Photo / Michael Craig
Most of the offences in 2018 were isolated to a few clusters around the central city but by 2021 they had spread, with the whole of Fenton St and the central city seeing a significant number of offences. The number of assaults and drug-related offending in the southern half of Fenton St increased significantly by 2021.
Rotorua police admitted emergency housing had increased the demand on their resources and said staffing had not been increased during this time.
In a statement yesterday, police said the programme was well underway and that it was working to identify eligible retailers.
A core team of 12 assessors and an additional five ethnic liaison officers, who have strong and established relationships with many in the retail sector, were working on the programme.
So far, 40 assessments have been finished and 23 of those stores have had a site review by a contractor for the provision and installation of protective equipment.
Five stores have had installations completed and a further five have installations underway.
