Over 100,000 retail crime incidents in NZ during 2021- 22

Retail crime rose by 39 per cent from 2021 to 2022 with over 100,000 incidents recorded during that period, Stuart Nash told Parliament on March 14, on the eve of his resignation as the Minister of Police. 

Nash was responding to a question raised by Whangaparraoa MP Mark Mitchell of the National Party during question time.

In a bid to cushion the spike in retail crime, Nash pointed to the government’s “record investment in police.”

“We’ve delivered nearly 1,700 more police to hold the bad guys to account and keep our communities safe,” Nash informed the House.

 Auror, a system introduced by the Government “made it so much easier for retailers to report crime to police,” Nash said. In 2018, 10,845 retail crimes were reported through Auror, which increased to 69,000 by 2022.

The Government put in place the National Retail Investigation Support Unit and also implemented the Retail Crime Prevention Programme, Nash told the House.

National’s Mitchell highlighted the plight of a superette in Auckland that was closing “for fear of being attacked again, and because the Government blames him for selling cigarettes,” a claim Nash summarily rejected.

“ I don’t think you will find anyone in this Government who blames any shopkeeper for being attacked or robbed,” Nash said.

He added: “That’s a terrible thing to say, Mr. Mitchell.”

Citing the crime protection subsidy package that included the installation of bollards and fog cannons in stores affected by crime, Nash said the Government invested on an average over $15,000 in every store “that has come to us and asked police to help them prevent crime.”

In a swipe at Mitchell and the National Party, Nash reminded the member that police numbers had fallen in the last three years of the previous National Government.

Earlier, responding to a query from fellow Labour Party member Dr. Emily Henderson, Nash focused attention on the police’s Operation Cobalt, which was introduced in June last year to control gang-related crime.

As of March, police had seized over 300 firearms, conducted 945 searches under warrant and charged over 7,000 gang members and their associates, Nash informed the House.

The House heard that the Government allocated $562 million for law and order in Budget 2022 “for work targeting and removing unlawful firearms off the streets.