Duncan Garner: We should treat shoplifting thugs like looters during a pandemic

OPINION: I walked into daylight robbery on Saturday afternoon.

No, I'm not talking about the price of hand sanitiser - literally, it was a daylight robbery.

Although don't expect some heroic tale from me - I actually did next to nothing to help. I suppose I blinked but I didn't want to die.

But man, it was confronting. Seeing these retail workers of this electronics store in New Lynn struggling desperately at the front doors, trying to grab the big plastic bag off this angry woman. 

What a clearly agitated, fiery, awful piece of work. The alleged thief had been found out so she fought her corner.

As she made her way out, my young guy Buster bolted back into the car. My reactions were slower and I stayed standing in front of the car with various scenarios running through my head; if I touch her it's assault, and does she have a weapon? 

No-one could stop her now. I watched as she walked up the road, so I dashed inside to tell the staff what I saw.

The quietly spoken, mild-mannered - but shaken - shop assistant was on the phone to the cops.

But he said to me as he waited, "they won't come, this happens all the time".

They were very much defeated by this. Unless police catch them in the act in the shop, it seems these young jerks get away with it, time after time.

Law and order is a big issue every election and this stuff costs businesses big time, can we do better than this? Yes, and we must.

Shoplifting is theft and we have a system that says "we won't get you - and if we do - a wet bus ticket awaits".

Theft kills a small business, add COVID-19 on top of that; we should treat these thugs like looters to give them a real fright.

But hands off our retailers - it's hard enough without dropkicks ducking in to rinse them during a pandemic.

But when you don't respect yourself, I guess you'll never respect anything.

Duncan Garner hosts The AM Show.