Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has revealed a series of reforms to improve New Zealand’s criminal justice system's response to criminals targeting retailers.
The reforms include the introduction of a new aggravating factor to address offences against workers whose homes and businesses are interconnected.
“This announcement is just one part of the Government’s extensive action to restore law and order,” a statement reads.
“We are delivering 500 additional Police and giving them more powers to go after criminal gangs, speeding up court processes, restoring Three Strikes legislation, establishing military-style academies and creating a Serious Young Offender category to make powerful interventions in the lives of young offenders.”
Earlier this year, dramatic footage of a security guard helplessly watching on as criminals ransacked a Michael Hill store on New Zealand’s North Island made international headlines.
Partridge Jewellers in Newmarket, an upscale retail district of Auckland, was also robbed twice in nine days in April.
Retail NZ CEO Carolyn Young said that with crime affecting 92 per cent of retailers in New Zealand and annual costs exceeding $NZ2 billion, these changes aren’t enough.
"This doesn't go far enough. Almost every retail worker has been affected by crime and aggression, whether they are sole charge or not," Young said in a statement.
"On a daily basis, retailers of all sizes are dealing with threatening, violent, or simply unpleasant customers, who are trying to steal or damage their property."
In June, a Papatoetoe jewellery store owner who was hit on the head with a hammer during a violent armed robbery suffered a fractured skull.
A spokesperson for the family who owns the business said that it was a stark reminder that New Zealand is becoming a ‘very violent and dangerous society’, adding that crime was out of control and needed to be stopped.
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