New Shoplifting Penalties A Step In The Right Direction
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has announced increased penalties for theft, including a new infringement regime for low value shoplifting, tougher consequences for threatening or intimidating behaviour associated with shoplifting, and longer maximum prison sentences.
'It's great to see new measures being introduced that will broaden opportunities for shoplifting to have significant repercussions,' Retail NZ Chief Executive Carolyn Young says.
Ms Young is a member of the Ministerial Advisory Group on retail crime which is developing proposals to tackle retail crime.
'Retailers are crying out for proactive solutions that prevent crime and enhance the safety of their staff and customers. Our members continue to face high rates of violence and crime, putting both their employees and the public at risk, as well as threatening the financial sustainability of retail businesses.'
Retail crime is a significant issue in New Zealand, impacting more than 99% of retailers and costing well over $2.6 billion a year.
Retail NZ's COMS Retail Crime Report 2024 found that 73% of retailers experienced shoplifting during the year and 58% experienced threatening behaviour.
'Shoplifting is at epidemic levels and recidivist offenders are a big issue,' Ms Young says.
'People shoplift for all sorts of different reasons. Although the cost of living crisis is often being blamed for the increase in retail crime, retailers confirm that the majority of offenders shoplift goods that are clearly unrelated to their daily basic needs. Sometimes they are shoplifting to order, sometimes to support their addictions or to gain notoriety on social media.'
The increased penalties announced today will be welcomed by retailers as a good addition to other crime prevention tools like facial recognition technology, security guards, fog cannons, staff training and body cameras.
Retail NZ has formed a working group comprising a number of New Zealand's largest retailers which is developing agreed approaches to crime prevention measures.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
17 hours ago
- RNZ News
Former Dilworth housemaster Ian Wilson remains an undue risk, declined parole for the sixth time
By Tara Shaskey, Open Justice multimedia journalist of Former Dilworth housemaster Ian Wilson's sixth attempt at parole has been declined. Photo: NZME / Michael Craig Warning:This story discusses sexual assault and may be distressing for some readers. Former Dilworth housemaster Ian Wilson, who is serving jail time for sexually abusing several students, has been grilled on whether he has other victims he has yet to disclose. "Not to my knowledge. I would be very surprised if any other people come forward," Wilson told the Parole Board today. But panel convenor Judge Arthur Tompkins rejected Wilson's response, stating it was "not an answer". "What does that mean - 'not to your knowledge'?" he asked. Wilson repeated his response, claiming he was not aware of anyone else whom he had sexually abused, who had not already laid a complaint against him. Judge Tompkins reminded Wilson that previously, he had only admitted his offending in sequential stages, when confronted with credible accounts by victims as they spoke up. Wilson claimed he had repressed memories of his previous actions. He said he "didn't dwell" on the abuse he inflicted, and it was only on hearing accounts from his victims that he thought, "yes, there's truth to that". "I had put them [memories] away, I tried to move on." The panel pressed him on whether it was a possibility that Wilson had repressed memories of there being further victims. He said there was always that possibility, but repeated he would be "very surprised". One of Wilson's supporters spoke to the board about how Wilson had been reading the Bible and praying to God to reveal any abuse that he may be holding back. "And nothing has been revealed," said the man, who cannot be named. Dilworth School in Auckland has been linked to several historical sexual offending cases. Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook Wilson, who worked at Dilworth from February 1971 until his resignation in December 1996, was arrested in 2020 as part of Operation Beverly, a long-running investigation into historical sexual abuse by several staff at the Auckland-based boys-only boarding school. He was jailed in March 2021 for three years and seven months for indecently assaulting five students between 1975 and 1992 - some of them more than once and over several years. Wilson was still in jail when he had one year and 11 months added to his sentence in August last year after belatedly admitting to having abused five others. At today's hearing, Wilson was denied parole for the sixth time, leaving him to serve most, if not all, of his prison sentence. The board determined he remained an undue risk and scheduled his next hearing for July next year. His statutory release date is 22 September 2026. If granted parole in July, he would be released with parole conditions. However, if he were again declined, he would serve the remaining two months of his sentence and then be served with release conditions. The outcome was welcomed by one of Wilson's victims, Neil Harding, who has fought to keep the former housemaster behind bars for the duration of his sentence. "It's really, really good. I'm really comfortable with that. I'm grateful to the Parole Board that they listened," Harding told NZME. Before the hearing, Harding made submissions to the board, imploring it to ask Wilson if there were other victims. He said he believed there were at least two other people who had yet to come forward. "Of course, if he were truly remorseful, he would tell the truth," Harding said. In his submissions, Harding pointed out that Wilson was part of the school's senior management and claimed Wilson played a significant role in covering up abuse by other parties, as well as his own offending. "The Royal Commission into Abuse in Care named Dilworth School first in institutions that had the highest prevalence of sexual abuse in New Zealand between 1950-1999. "Ian Wilson was responsible, along with others, for the cover-up of sexual abuse of hundreds of young boys." He said Wilson was "sadistic and inhumane" towards students and described him as "a monster". More than 40 former pupils have taken their own lives after the decades of abuse that went on at the school, Harding submitted. "The impact of [Wilson's] abuse, and the role he played, is incalculable." Wilson has denied knowing others were sexually abusing students. "He most definitely knew other paedophiles were active at Dilworth," Harding told the board. He said Wilson continued to lie, including when he claimed his offending ended, and when asked about further victims. Harding rejected Wilson's claims that he had reformed and was remorseful. "If you believe that he has been rehabilitated, then he has again duped and conned the system." At the hearing, Wilson's lawyer submitted that Wilson was an eligible candidate for parole, given that he had a support network that held him accountable, and had approved interim accommodation. Wilson's ill health, proposed special conditions, safety plan, and the treatment he underwent in prison were additional factors for consideration. * This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald . If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
Scoop
17 hours ago
- Scoop
Labour Commits To Bringing Back Gang Patches
Labour has finally announced its first law and order policy with Peeni Henare confirming they would repeal the gang patch ban, National's Justice spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says. 'In a Tamaki Makaurau byelection debate last night, Peeni Henare confirmed Labour will return to the bad old days of gangs taking over towns and frightening New Zealanders. 'This is shocking, but hardly surprising from a party so soft on crime. Labour has once again shown how out of touch they are with everyday Kiwis. 'On numerous occasions, Chris Hipkins has committed to keeping National's gang patch ban. He needs to be clear with New Zealanders – does he have any policies of his own, or is his plan dictated to him by Te Pāti Maori and the Greens? 'Banning gang patches has been an integral part of our plan to restore law and order, which we know is working. There are 28,000 fewer victims of violent crime than when we came into Government. Allowing gangs to once again behave as if they're above the law, puts all that at risk.' Using Scoop for work? Scoop is free for personal use, but you'll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features. Join Pro Individual Find out more
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Otago Daily Times
Retailers upbeat following OCR cut
Talk of lower interest rates has retailers feeling more positive about the economy. Photo: RNZ Shopkeepers might have high hopes for an economic turnaround and better sales, but the data indicates otherwise. Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young said Wednesday's cut to the official cash rate was unlikely to see shoppers flooding retail stores just yet. The Reserve Bank cut its cash rate by 25 basis points to a three-year low of 3 percent, and left the door open for further reductions. Young said the group's latest quarterly report from April to June,showed 62 percent of retailers did not meet their sales targets. But she said talk of lower interest rates had them feeling more positive about the economy. "Businesses are optimistic that we are through the worst of it, but their trading levels aren't showing that they are. Optimism is based on emotion and trading sales figures are based on fact." She said the next six months would be crucial for businesses facing closure and hoped to see the Reserve Bank deliver on more aggressive cuts. Previous OCR drops had not delivered the hoped-for economic boost, she said. Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young. Photo: Supplied "We're not seeing growth, we're not seeing many green shoots, we're seeing businesses that are still being challenged. Businesses closing, laying off staff, doing restructures. We know a lot of retailers are still trading at a loss. "It's a really difficult economic environment. Consumer confidence needs to be higher in order for retail to survive." Young said there was always a lag between rate changes and spending habits, and right now, people were focused on paying for the essentials. Meanwhile, Kelvin Davidson, chief property economist at Cotality, was not expecting any big changes in the housing market following the lowered OCR. He said despite significant falls in the rate over the past year, the housing market had remained flat. "The influence of low mortgage rates is already out there, yet the housing market isn't really responding. "I think what were seeing on the other side of the ledger is restraint from the weak economy and weak labour market, people have lost jobs and even if you've kept the job there's that spillover impact on confidence." Davidson said until there was a shift in the economy and employment rates, the housing market was unlikely to change, and he expected it would remain subdued for the next six to nine months.
