New Zealand political party ACT has proposed new measures to target escalating retail crime in the country.
Since December, there have been 14,215 prosecutions and 1,429 youth referrals for retail crime in New Zealand.
There have also been 388 cases of offenders using vehicles to break into stores between December 2022 and the end of May, 2023.
To date, police have taken 218 prosecutions against ram-raid offenders, made 86 youth referrals to Police Youth Services and are continuing to actively approximately investigate 99 ram raids.
The proposed measures include amending the Sentencing Act 2002, emphasising that judges must consider the fact that a serious violent offence occurred against a worker during their course of work as an aggravating factor.
According to ACT, that means if a victim suffered a serious violent crime in their workplace or during the course of their work, a judge will be able to hand down a longer sentence.
Particular regard could be taken if the worker and/or their family was particularly vulnerable, such as if they were working alone or had an adjoining home.
“There are stronger protections in the law for people in their homes than for people in their workplaces,” ACT candidate Parmjeet Parmar said. “We need to fix this inconsistency.
“A crime carried out against someone in their place of work can be just as traumatising as a home invasion and the effects just as devastating.
“When businesses decide it is too dangerous to keep their doors open at night, or a taxi driver avoids certain routes, or bus drivers quit because the level of abuse isn’t worth it, everyone is worse off. We need to stop this senseless violence or entire communities will feel the consequences.
“For small businesses, their workplace is like a second home. New Zealanders deserve to feel safe at their place of work, just as they should feel safe in their home.”
ACT leader David Seymour said workers on the frontline are facing increasingly violent episodes.
Police NZ recently reported that its National Retail Investigation Support Unit has laid 1,331 charges against 223 offenders since May 2022.
“The frequency and intensity of retail crime is on the rise,” he said. “We see shocking images of workers being assaulted in the media every day. Dairy owners and other small retailers are now putting themselves inside cages so criminals can’t get behind the counter.
“There is no place for this kind of senseless violence in New Zealand, the law needs to reflect this.”
Seymour said police data revealed 18,769 aggravated robbery victimisations occurred between 2017 to April 2023, with only 8,162 proceedings taking place.
“Every instance of aggravated robbery in a workplace represents an instance where the worker faces a risk of real harm.
“Too often, workers on the frontline of an aggravated robbery suffer completely unprovoked assaults, making the prospect of an attack even more distressing.”
Retail NZ welcomed the proposed policy, with manager for public affairs and advice Aimie Hines saying it would help retail workers feel supported by the justice system.
“Retailers deserve respect and support for the work they do supporting and serving communities across the country,” Hines said. “Unfortunately, crime rates are increasing and the severity of attacks on retailers continues.
“Other parts of the world have examples similar to this initiative, like in Scotland where a crime against a retail worker comes with a higher offence and within legislation in the Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Act 2021.
“We encourage a conversation that puts all practical options on the table to deal with retail crime and to support retail workers to undertake their job without having offenders feel that they can commit a crime in a retail environment without appropriate consequences.”