‘A huge difference’: Retailers say beat cops make city centre safer

Thursday, 26 September 2024

Business owners around Wellington’s city centre say the community policing drive has made them feel safer.

“We noticed a huge difference the second that it started,” said Welly Collective co-owner Libby Dearnley.

The Post spoke with three business owners and employees along Manners St and Cuba Mall, and all agreed that seeing police officers patrolling the area had made it feel significantly safer for them.

Ten new community police officers started work in Wellington in July, as part of a initiative that will put 90 new constables on the streets of the capital, Auckland and Christchurch.

Outgoing Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said, at the time, that the aim was to increase police visibility. That, he said, “encourages a sense of safety through positive engagement with the public and business owners”.

Wellington’s central area has been beset by retail crime over the past few years, with retailers saying they felt powerless to stop shoplifting, as well as antisocial behaviour outside driving away customers.

The shoplifting reached its zenith in April 2023, with 226 reports of retail crime, but has since dropped this year, although decreased foot traffic in Wellington may be a factor.

Cozy Cake Shop owner Mao Chea said he had definitely noticed the Manners St area seemed safer, following the arrival of the community beat team.

He said antisocial behaviour drove away customers and tourists from his shop, which has been on Manners St for over 20 years.

“It’s much safer.”

Community police officers had come into his store to check on him and see how he was doing, he added, which had been appreciated.

City Stop convenience store employee Pawan Kaur agreed with Chea, saying the area felt far more safe since the police officers had started patrolling.

Although she had opened her Welly Collective store on Cuba S only three days ago, Dearnley said she had experienced Wellington’s increase in retail crime, owning stores on Courtenay Place and Lambton Quay.

Because of this, she had noticed “straight away” the difference police officers made when patrolling the streets.

While she personally hadn’t experienced any particular danger, she said she understood that some people were nervous in the centre of town, even during the day.

“So I know Manners St was an issue, prior to that was supposed to be Courtenay Place, and now it seems like it might be here [Cuba Mall].”

One of the biggest changes was that, if there was an issue in the store, she could call the police and they would show up immediately.

“Prior to this new initiative, we would call and they would not turn up… Whereas now you call the cops and they actually do, because they’re closer. ”

She said she would commonly see officers walk in groups of two around the area, often for hours, and would often drop in to check with retailers.

Wellington City sergeant Hamish Knight said the feedback from the public and business owners has been good.

“I've even been out there myself, just walking through with the team, and I was getting frequently stopped, with people saying how it was good to see that the cops were out and about.”

Walking the beat had reinforced all the good work the council and police had done to increase the safety of the area, he said -- with the community policing an extra layer of safety on top.

The officers were walking 10 to 15km, to sometimes 20km a day, he said.

“So they're spending a lot of time on their feet. We manage that by a couple of hours on their feet and come back and have a break.”

Retailers out in Miramar and the Eastern suburbs have also been affected by retail crime, so officers are taking public transport out there and back, Knight said.

“They're also getting that visibility on the public transport networks, adding to the security or the feeling of safety for bus drivers and those that are on the commute as well.”

“It's about being visible, a visible reassurance.”