“Police Minister Chris Hipkins refuses to say how many of the 27,759 retail businesses in New Zealand have had a completed installation of protective equipment through the Retail Crime Prevention Programme, it’s seems likely the answer is not a single one,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
“Police Minister Chris Hipkins refuses to say how many of the 27,759 retail businesses in New Zealand have had a completed installation of protective equipment through the Retail Crime Prevention Programme, it’s seems likely the answer is not a single one,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
“When I asked the Minister this question in Parliament today he would only say that 83 businesses have had installations booked, but refused to reveal how many have actually been completed.
“The Minister knew I was going to ask this question, he had four and a half hours to figure out the answer. The reason he wouldn’t provide one is because he knows the lack of progress makes a mockery of his policy and shows how incompetent Labour are at delivering anything.
“It’s entirely likely the answer remains zero. He revealed to my colleague Dr James McDowall just last week that nothing has been completed in Hamilton.
“Shopowners have to wait for their business to be ram raided before they’re even considered for support. A letter from Hipkins’ office to the Ellerslie Jewellers who tried to get help before eventually being robbed states: “The funding available to access the $6 million support package to help protect businesses from ram raids is not contestable, and retailers are not able to apply for funding. Police is identifying eligible shops based on past victimisations and following weighted criteria to prioritise which shops receive assistance first…”
“Ellerslie Jewellers got hit by a smash and grab yesterday. The ridiculous thing is that under the current criteria they probably still don’t qualify for any support. Apparently to be eligible you have to be specifically driven into by a vehicle.
“Minister Hipkins said he would consider changing the eligibility criteria for the programme to extend it to include victims of smash and grabs. This would be logical and needs to be done asap.
“Business owners are being devastated by these attacks, they shouldn’t have to wait until they’re victimised to be able to access the allocated fund.
“The $6 million fund was announced six months ago. In August Hipkins promised to speed up progress but still nothing has been delivered. If the government had delivered on its promise we might be seeing fewer victims who have been traumatised by these violent attacks.
“Hipkins needs to explain why he is failing on his promise to protect innocent victims and when we’re finally going to see action.”