“Blameless” ramraiders no deterrence, dairyowners say.
18 July 2023
While dairy owners are welcoming any new sanctions from the government, it remains underwhelmed that the culprits, the kids who raimraid and their parents who don’t care, remain blameless.
“How come Kiwis went through the Great Depression, two world wars, the 1980s without smashing up the corner dairy?” asked Sunny Kaushal, Chair of the Dairy and Business Owner’s Group who recently put a manifesto to the current Police Minister and to Chris Hipkins, four Police Minister’s ago.
“Something’s gone seriously wrong in society. The softer we’ve become the greater the offending. We’ve swapped consequences for a cuddle and a cup of tea. It’s not working.
“We’ve been saying a crime Tsunami was coming for over six-years now. We’ve been ignored until the crime emergency became a political emergency.
“Policy seems all over the show. It was only in March when the government said youth crime was falling and then in May, when it claimed ramraids were going down as well. It’s a bit late for a U-turn..
“Look, we appreciate moves to adopt what National, Act and NZ First have already announced with a new aggravating factor for adults who direct kids to commit crime and for social media posts, or boasts, should we say.
“What disappoints us is the lack of consequences for the offenders and their parents. The message that sends is that they are a ”victim” becoming a greenlight when there’s little or no consequences. To shift the crime dial means shifting the focus onto offenders and their families.
“What would help are real actions to give the community tools it needs to create a safer society,” Mr Kaushal said.
What the Dairy and Business Owners’ Group has put to the Police Minister and Government:
1. Reform the laws of self-defence and the defence of property: Our confusing laws are so watered down they favour the offender against the law abiding. It means we break the law if we slap something from the hands of a thief if that creates a minor injury. Balancing the scale saw us put Crimes Act amendments to the Police Minister to define what force may be used in the defence of property. This is similar to Australia.
2. Extend Citizen’s Arrest powers to all Crimes Act offences 24/7 and to property crimes within the Summary Offences Act: Our Citizen’s Arrest powers have been watered down so that during daylight hours, it only applies to really serious crimes and excuses so-called “minor” crimes that sees shopkeepers and security guards unable to effect a Citizen’s Arrest. We need that changed as criminals will start to think twice and because Section 36 requires anyone making an arrest must have “reasonable and probable cause,” it is not a vigilante charter.
3. We need MSD, Justice and Corrections aligned to deal with problem families and their children with parents having criminal liability for their children: It is clear some parents don’t care where their children are, or what they get up to. The role of the state is to intervene in the interests of the child not dysfunctional ‘families.’ That would add a new 11-word clause to Section 152 of the Crimes Act.
4. Crimes need real consequences and that is prison for adults and custodial reeducation and training for kids: Rather than catch and release, problem kids need to be given tough love discipline and help to turn their lives around. We deserve protection from them.
5. Get the beggars and homeless off the streets and into the care they need: Nothing speaks to the ‘San-Franciscoisation’ of our towns and cities than begging and homelessness. This is neglect in the community and begging/vagrancy needs to be put back into the Summary Offences Act.
6. Visible law enforcement on the streets: We also want Police Authorised Officers walking the streets to as they do in the UK as Police Community Support Officers but with a focus on anti-social crime.
7. Deploy Artificial Intelligence based street lighting and CCTV in partnership with councils: AI is used now but live camera feeds put into AI is not. This needs to change because AI works at speeds far in excess of a human and is decision support to close blind spots, automate tracking and direct camera operators to where the issues are. AI at the heart of surveillance that reduces the odds of getting away with crime.
8. Laws to end smoking will supercharge gang revenue like nothing we have seen in history: We want a Smokefree Aotearoa but an obsession with 2025 will resurrect armed hold-ups, home invasions and truck-jackings. Legal sellers will be destroyed handing whole suburbs and communities to gang-run ‘ciggie houses.’
9. Enlarging the Crime Fund to $40m, targeting 10,000 retailers: allowing any retail business to apply for security so long as they do not turnover $50m annually (i.e., large retailers).