Police want anxious dairy shop owners to fight off the desire to arm themselves.
National prevention manager Inspector Eric Tibbott says the best thing to do is move away from robbers, avoid confrontation and call police.
Mr Tibbot says, in fact, New Zealand is quite a safe country.
"Some of the international research puts us close to the top - the last one I saw was that we were second in safe countries, closely behind Iceland," he said.
About 12 aggravated robberies a week have taken place in 2017, including one in Porirua on Christmas Eve.
A man entered a shop on Mungavin Ave on December 24, punching the store manager and taking a large amount of cash.
One suspect, aged 30, has now been arrested and will appear at Porirua District Court on December 28.
Police thanked public for their help in tracking down the suspect.
Newshub.
