Shop owners in the South Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe have taken to the streets to call for more urgent Government action on crime.
Retailers shut up shop for an hour today to highlight the fear running rife in the community.
One man said his business was robbed “two times in the evening”.
“People just came in and took our medication, jewellery, and clothing.”
“Let’s do something now before it’s too late,” another man said. “And it’s already too late.”
A violent robbery at Pooja Jewellers on Kolmar Rd nine days ago left owner Gurdeep Singh with a fractured skull.
He had been struck in the head with a hammer.
He was in surgery for five hours, his brother Ravinder Singh said.
“We were thinking we were going to lose him, where he hurt in the head,” he told 1News.
“I thought ‘he’s not going to survive’.”
Three teenagers were arrested in relation to the attack.
Ravinder Singh, who owned a nearby jewellery store, said it would be months before his brother could return to work.
“[The] Government should have some kind of law where the 14-, 15-year-old kids can come with the knife or hammer, they have to do something about that,” he said.
Meanwhile, a home in nearby Ōtara was shot at overnight.
No one was injured in the incident, but police were investigating.
‘A lot of work going on’ — Prime Minister
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said there’s “a lot of work going on around gang laws”.
“We started in the first 100 days, have gone through Parliament, three readings, will be passed into law in August and September,” he said.
“I’m frustrated with it, I know the public are frustrated with it.
“We want to see a lot more progress in law and order.”
Later this month, boot camps for youth offenders would be piloted, and an extra 21 police officers would begin patrolling downtown Auckland.
Papatoetoe businesses said they have waited long enough for action.
“Every week, every month, the crime keeps creeping up and it’s really sad because it’s really impacting the vibe of this community,” one man said.