Call for police taskforce to tackle retail crime

WELLINGTON: Retail New Zealand is calling on the Government to establish a police taskforce to combat retail crime and introduce spotfines for petty offences.

Retail crime costs the country around $1 billion a year in losses.

‘‘Retail crime is a serious problem for retailers, consumers and the economy as a whole,’’ said Retail NZ’s general manager for public affairs Greg Harford.

‘‘Retailers are already working to prevent and deter crime, but retail crime is growing, becoming more menacing and more violent. Criminal gangs are increasingly active in retail crime, and urgent steps are needed to deal with this societal problem.’’

Retail NZ called for a ‘‘threepoint action plan’’, which included a national Retail Crime Taskforce within the police, a socialchange programme, and an infringement notice penalty regime for petty offences.

Mr Harford said the infringements for less serious crime would not tie up resources.

‘‘Theft as part of an organised crime group needs to be treated extremely seriously and robust prison terms should apply to those committing crimes for a gang or syndicate. At the same time, we recognise that many people drift into organised crime gangs because they have been able to get away with petty theft without any consequences.

‘‘Prosecutions through the courts are cumbersome, and we, therefore, propose the introduction of an infringementstyle offence for petty theft. This will ensure that there are real consequences for people starting their life of crime, and act as a deterrent to repeat offending.

But when an offender received more than two infringement notices, or where the theft is committed as part of an organised criminal gang, Retail NZ said stronger penalties should apply, including imprisonment.

Mr Harford said retail crime was part of a broader social problem relating to antisocial behaviour.

‘‘There is a perception in some parts of the community that theft and other antisocial behaviour is acceptable, but we need to be teaching everyone in society that it is important to respect both people and property.’’

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In October last year, criminals ramraided Mark Carter’s Christchurch store and took thousands of dollars’ worth of goods.

They drove a car through the front doors of the Anderson & Hill Sportspower at 3am, before reversing another car through the shattered facade.

In under two minutes, they stole more than $70,000 worth of sporting goods.

‘‘The places looked much like it did after the earthquakes a few years ago,’’ Mr Carter said. ‘‘Because of this, our staff were pretty good at trying to go on with business as usual, working around the mess but everyone was pretty stressed.

‘‘We had to wait for the police crime team to finish their inspection before we could get into the store.

‘‘Despite the chaos, we just had to trade; it was going to be a busy day for us.’’

Mr Carter estimated damage to the building and value of the stolen goods was about $100,000.

He has nine CCTV cameras and an alarm system in the shop.

A neighbouring store experienced a similar ram a week later. — The New Zealand Herald