How to smoke out the armed robbers

This week, Detective Inspector Fa’amanuia Va’aelua arrested four teens over the robbery of another superette in Mangere, in which a worker was brutally punched and kicked in the head. This took his armed robbery taskforce’s arrest tally to more than 70 in 12 weeks.

But a lock ‘em up strategy is not enough: ‘‘Police can’t arrest themselves out of this situation,’’ he said. ‘‘There needs to be a cooperation between police and communities, especially families.’’ We need new solutions. When my local Jellicoe Park dairy was robbed this month by assailants wielding a screwdriver, Onehunga residents flooded Neighbourly.co.nz with words of support for the injured owner.

Among them, a suggestion: it’s time, said one neighbour, for dairy and service station operators to seriously consider removing cigarettes from their shelves.

As the prices of cigarettes go up, they have become the primary target of many armed robbers. Never mind the cash in the till, they know they can sell cartons of cigarettes for big money in darkened corners of dodgy pubs.

The Z petrol chain reveals today it is spending $1 million installing robbery-resistant cigarette dispensers at 50 service stations.

Tariff increases have reduced smoking rates, but they have also turned cigarettes into lucrative contraband. Tobacco companies offer good margins to retailers, who rely on them for 60 per cent of their revenue. But some are saying, enough. Thomas Schroeder, of the Karitane General Store in Otago, made the decision not to stock tobacco because it was too risky.

The response had been positive. ‘‘There were obviously a couple of disappointed smokers. But we’re happy with the change.’’