New stats renew calls for tougher violent robbery penalties

Violent Papatoetoe dairy robbery caught on camera
Violent Papatoetoe dairy robbery caught on camera

Small business owners in South Auckland are calling for tougher penalties for violent robberies.

With the help of Statistics New Zealand and police data, Newshub has mapped violent offending in public places and part of Papatoetoe is in the top 10 for major cities.

In CCTV footage recorded at a Papatoetoe dairy, hoodie-clad men storm in with a knife and a hammer.

The owner, who does not want to be identified, says they then started loading cigarettes and money into a sack.

"As they entered they were waving the hammer and the guy who was holding the hammer was banging it not the counter, trying to scare my sister," says the man.

 He says he used to think trouble happened after dark, but it is now a much scarier work environment as robberies are being committed at any time of the day.

His dairy is located in Papatoetoe Central, which rounds out the top 10 New Zealand areas for robberies and assaults -- the area suffered 109 in 2015 alone, just over four times the national average.

Joining those statistics with the hammer and knife robbery left this man's sister feeling depressed and anxious.

"It really made me angry," says the dairy owner.

"Why this is happening? New Zealand is a great country."

Another brazen snatch and dash happened just two days before the hammer & knife robbery. The dairy owner believes the punishments not strong enough to deter offenders -- particularly young ones, who he suspects are feeding a cigarette black market.

Labour MP Jenny Salesa has been meeting with local businesses. She believes police are under-resourced and says people in the area are fearful they will be next.

"They wake up each day wondering if it is the day they will get robbed," says Ms Salesa.

A liquor store owner in the same Papatoetoe Central grid was robbed by four men in March. They tried to grab booze and leave, but when it didn't go their way, things got violent.

"He tried to wack me with bottles on the head, it was really dangerous," says the man, who also did not want his identity revealed.

His father, who is in his 60s, was forced to fend the offenders off with a hockey stick.

"This time came bare-handed, but next time it could be a knife, hammer or gun," says the victim.

He says he is working hard to make an honest living and he would like the law to take it seriously when others try to rob him of that.

Newshub.