Cafe owner angry after police decline to investigate burglary
A Christchurch business owner has been left feeling powerless and frustrated after police told him they were not able to investigate a burglary at his cafe – only for the cafe to be hit by a second burglary that same night.
Yong Ren is the owner of several cafes, including Cocoa Black on Harewood Rd in Bishopdale.
On March 11, he was dismayed when staff turned up to the cafe to find it had been broken into and the till, with about $1000 in it, had been stolen.
The burglar seemingly tried to break a large window to get into the cafe just before 3am, but only managed to make a small hole and crack the glass. They then smashed two smaller windows in order to break the lock on the door and gain entry, before ripping the till off the counter and fleeing.
The burglary and the offender, wearing a white hoodie, were captured on security footage, which Ren supplied to police. The offender’s white station wagon – parked outside the cafe – can also be seen, but the number plate of the car was not visible.
Ren said he suggested to police they approach the surrounding businesses to obtain security footage outside the stores to see if the number plate might have been captured there. He was baffled and disappointed when he received an email from police two weeks later that said they won’t be able to investigate the burglary as “there are no avenues of enquiry for police to follow up with”.
His disappointment turned to frustration when his business was the target of another burglary the very same night. Based on the security footage, Ren believes it was the same offender that had carried out the first burglary.
There was no money in the till the second time around, but the burglar helped himself to the tip jar after breaking open the cafe’s door.
Ren said although it was not a large amount of money that was stolen, significant damage had been caused during both burglaries. There was also the added cost of upgrading security at the cafe, and the likelihood that the damage to the building will translate into an increase in rent in the future.
“I am so angry. The first time I said, OK, this happens. Then the second time they came again, and [the police] still do nothing,” he said. “And we’re paying them, we’re the taxpayers. But they just do nothing.”
He has now resorted to instructing his staff to leave the empty till open at the window of each of his cafes at the end of each day, with a sign stating there is no cash on the premises in the hope this would deter potential burglars.
Another crime victim, Blair Hickling, questioned why police get to be “judge and jury” to decide which cases are deserving of being investigated. Hickling is the developer of a building site in St Albans that was targeted by thieves about six weeks ago. He says about 15 plants were stolen from the development, ripped right out of the ground.
A security camera on site captured a ute driving onto and off the site at the time, its number plate clearly visible.
However, after Hickling reported the incident to police, he received an email (seen by The Press) from a detective sergeant saying the file would not be assigned for investigation given the large number of files that were awaiting member assignment.
“At this stage my team are holding a large number of residential burglary and vehicle thefts files which are awaiting member assignment. I have to assess these files and then determine whether we have the capacity to investigate them,” the email read.
“At this stage prolific property offenders are prioritised.”
Hickling said while the value of the stolen plants was not great, he was frustrated with the police’s attitude. “How are we expected to feel secure when they simply decide what cases they will and won't investigate despite a crime having been committed?”
Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Farrant acknowledged police reports are “triaged” according to various factors, including seriousness of the offence, available evidence and potential leads.
“Due to demand and availability of staff, police resources are distributed among reports that meet the threshold on some or all of the above, and depending on the seriousness of the offence. If a report fails to meet the required threshold it may be filed pending further information.”
Farrant said the Canterbury Tactical Crime Team was focused on targeting Canterbury’s priority offenders – “those that are causing the most harm to our community through their prolific offending”.
The team consists of several investigators focused on burglaries, vehicle offending and thefts in the district. “Due to the nature of this type of offending the team has to prioritise its workload.”
He did not respond to a question on how police determine whether a prolific offender was involved, if the crime has not been investigated.
A police spokesperson said some questions from The Press, including how many Christchurch burglaries police were currently investigating and what percentage of burglaries are never investigated due to a lack of resources, would be treated as a request under the Official Information Act. This means police have 20 working days to provide a response.
The police crime data website shows 1073 burglaries and 3774 thefts were reported in Christchurch from January to March. These numbers have not been broken down to differentiate between residential and commercial premises.