More than 380 ram raids with 218 prosecutions in six months ended May

Police say there were 388 ram raid style events resulting in 218 prosecutions in the six months ended May this year.

Police are continuing to investigate 99 ram raids and made 86 referrals to Police Youth Services which may recommend actions such issuing a warning, referring to other agencies, or suggesting a family group conference referral.

Police said since 1 December 2022 there have been 14,215 prosecutions and 1429 youth referrals for retail crime.

In a statement, Assistant Commissioner Iwi and Communities Chris De Wattignar said nearly all the offenders caught at the start of this month were youth.

The youth justice system aimed to keep them out of the criminal system whilst holding them to account and the partnership between police and Oranga Tamariki helped to do this, he said.

"The approach ensures once a child is identified or apprehended by Police for offending behaviour, information is shared with Oranga Tamariki and any immediate needs of the child and their whānau are addressed. From there a referral is completed for the child and whānau to multi-agency teams who agree on an action plan developed by the team within 48 hours."

More than 200 referrals had been made through what was known as the fast track programme since December 2022, he said.

"Only 23 percent of those referred from the fast track through to the multi-agency teams have been referred again, showing the impact quick support can have on reducing reoffending," De Wattignar said.

Recently there had been some good examples of the Police's Retail Crime Prevention Programme security interventions helping foil offenders, he said.

One example was when offenders in a stolen car went to rob a shop but only managed to flee with some confectionary after the owner activated a fog canon and emergency alarm, they then tried another store a fog canon was again activated and this time they fled with cigarettes, he said.

"City CCTV then picked up the offenders and Police Eagle staff then used automatic number plate recognition cameras to provide commentary on the getaway vehicle, which was subsequently stopped by Police Dog Units and all four offenders were caught."

Without the technology and security the offenders would likely have caused more harm and not been caught as quickly, he said.

As at 6 July, a total of 2795 security interventions have been approved for eligible ram raid and aggravated robbery stores and allocated to contractors. Of these, a total of 1987 security interventions such as fog canons, security sirens and CCTV systems have been completed and invoiced by contractors.