Government ups fight against ram raiders with $9m boost to Retail Crime Prevention Programme

A stationery shop at the Northcote Shopping Centre, on Auckland's North Shore, was ram-raided. Photo / Hayden Woodward

The Government is ramping up the fight against ram raiders with a $9 million boost to retail support taking the total set aside to $15m.

The Retail Crime Prevention Programme was set up last year amid a dramatic post-pandemic spike in ram raids - a loose term to describe break-ins where people crash often-stolen vehicles into stores to then steal items.

Ram raids peaked in August last year when 116 were recorded. They have declined steadily to 41 recorded in Feburary, which is still significantly higher than pre-pandemic years when figures rarely rose about 20 a month.

The Herald understands the initial $6m fund, covering tools such as fog cannons and security systems, was close to running dry.

Today, Police Minister Ginny Andersen said despite numbers trending down, she wanted to ”support police on prevention and reassurance in our communities”.

So far 501 stores that were a victim of a ram raid or aggravated robbery had quotes approved, and 2383 interventions approved for eligible stores. Contractors had completed 1021 security interventions.

These included 222 fog cannons, 181 security sirens, 193 alarms, 195 CCTV systems or system upgrades, 82 bollards or similar security measures, 101 roller doors, and 47 other interventions that include improved lighting/strengthened windows.

“The Retail Crime Prevention Programme is delivering for dairies and small shops and the feedback we are getting from the community is great,” Andersen said.

The Government also had a fog cannon subsidy, managed through MBIE, with 342 completed and 892 applications approved.

Andersen said preventative measures also included programmes aimed at holding the young people committing these crimes accountable and getting them back on the right track.

Last year the Government expanded the wraparound support service Kotahi te Whakaaro, which had seen 82 per cent of children referred to the programme not reoffend.

New support also included contacting young recidivist offenders within 24 hours to help stop them from committing further crime. The programme has dealt with 84 children so far and of those, 67 have not reoffended.

“The majority of these young offenders have a family history of violence, so we need to make sure we get in early and break the cycle of crime,” Andersen said.