Minister promotes fog cannons to dairy owners
Police Minister Stuart Nash has hit the streets to encourage dairy owners to have fog cannons installed in their stores to prevent robberies.
The device fills a store with fog in seconds once activated through a wireless controller, giving shopkeepers time to get to safety and phone the police.
A $1.8 million scheme set up by the previous government split the $4000 cost of each fog cannon system with store owners on a 50-50 basis.
Only two retailers took up the put in $250 to have a fog cannon installed.
Nash visited the south Auckland suburb of Manurewa on Saturday to talk to the electorate’s MP, Louisa Wall, Manurewa Neighbourhood Support chairwoman Colleen Brown, and Manurewa police acting Inspector Chris Barry about the initiative.
Nash said asking each business owner to contribute $250 meant they had ‘‘a little bit of skin in the game’’.
‘‘It’s a deterrent but the best form of deterrent, which we’re implementing, is the 1800 new police officers on the streets [over the next three years].
‘‘It’s not about locking people up,’’ Nash said. ‘‘It’s about working with communities.’’
Wall said the fog cannons were about ‘‘harm minimisation’’.
‘‘We want to find dairy owners who can partner with police [to have the system installed] so when the fog cannon goes off they can get to a safe place.
‘‘We have this effective tool that nullifies the ability to bash dairy owners.’’
Nash, Wall, Brown and Barry visited three Manurewa dairies to see if they had fog cannons installed.
Nash told workers at the dairies: ‘‘You end up with a lot of fog in the store but it’s harmless and the stock is not damaged.
‘‘You can use it six times before it needs to be refilled.
‘‘Three seconds and you’re completely engulfed in fog,’’ Nash said. ‘‘It’s non-toxic and it keeps you safe.’’
About 20 dairies have so far had fog cannons installed, with another 17 signed up.
More than 1200 aggravated robberies were recorded at petrol stations and dairies around New Zealand between June 2016 and May 2017.
That represents an increase of
87 per cent from the previous
12-month period.