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PAKURANGA PLAZA RAIDED
By CHRIS HARROWELL
M
Times photo Wayne Martin
Vol 52, No 15
ore east Auckland retailers are repairing the damage caused to their businesses following the latest ram-raids in east Auckland. Police say they’re investigating a burglary at Pakuranga Plaza which was reported at about 11.50pm on April 12. A police spokesperson says it’s understood the offenders used a vehicle to gain entry to the shopping centre and then drove into a business to “gain further entry within the complex”. “Those involved have taken a number of items from the premises before fleeing on foot, abandoning the vehicle at the scene. “Police are committed to locating those responsible and holding them to account and our enquiries are well underway.” Police tape was used to cordon off an entry to the plaza beside the Porterhouse Grill restaurant the next morning. A police officer and security guard were present as were
several people working to repair the damage caused to the building. Pakuranga MP Simeon Brown says he’s “appalled” to learn the plaza was ram-raided. “Under Labour’s soft-oncrime approach to law and order we’re seeing ram-raids take place every 10 hours with businesses bearing the brunt. “We need clear consequences for the young people committing these crimes which National will deliver so we restore law and order in New Zealand.” A second local business was targeted by offenders the morning after the plaza was broken into. Officers are making enquiries following an attempted burglary at a commercial address in Thomas Road, Flat Bush, at about 3.26am on April 13, a police spokesperson says. “Upon arrival, despite some damage, no entry was gained into the premises. “Enquiries are ongoing to locate the vehicle believed to be involved.” The two latest incidents follow numerous ram-raid and
smash-and-grab burglaries at businesses across the country, including in east Auckland, over the past year, many of which were carried out by children and youths. They come less than a week after the Labour Government said its policies on youth crime are “making a difference”. The Government says there’s been a 65 per cent reduction in ram-raids in the six months following the announcement of its ‘Better Pathways’ package and 82 per cent of children referred to the ‘Kotahi te Whakaaro’ programme have not reoffended. “Of the 147 children engaged in the Government’s Kotahi te Whakaaro programme only 27 have reoffended,” Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni says. “The programme has also supported 373 siblings and wider family members, ensuring we’re turning the lives around of some of our most vulnerable young people. “Alongside these actions we’ve seen a drop in the number of reported ram-raid incidents.” Continued on page 2
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