A restaurant is the latest local business to be targeted by thieves and the National Party says the incident is an example of the Labour Government’s failure to enforce law and order.
The break-in happened at The Rib House restaurant in Ormiston Road, Flat Bush, at about 5.38am on March 4.
Those responsible smashed a window at the front of the restaurant to gain entry.
One of them appeared to be young, according to The Rib House’s owners Althea and Kurt Jacks.
The couple were visited by Botany MP and National Party leader Christopher Luxon and National police spokesperson Mark Mitchell on March 12.
Althea Jacks told Luxon what was caught on the business’s security cameras during the break-in.
She said two people, including the youth, tried to smash the window, before a woman got out of their vehicle and began kicking it.
“Then they were in. They jumped over the counter.
“There was a float [cash] in the till and they took all the alcohol.
“They took the top shelf, bottom shelf, all the wine, stuff out of the chiller, beers and things out of the chillers, and they took all the meat out of the fridge.
“They were just loading it into the car. The driver was in the car and he was filming them, watching what they were doing. They were in and then gone.”
Althea Jacks told the Times she estimates the total loss to the business including damage and stolen goods is about $10,000.
With seven months until this year’s general election, Luxon used the break-in at The Rib House to highlight the impact of crime across the country.
He said the restaurant’s owners work hard, have gone through the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on business, pay their taxes and have raised three “outstanding” children.
“They do a lot of good stuff in the community as well,” Luxon said.
“In this block [of businesses] other restaurants have been broken into.
“There were two big break-ins in the space of three months.
“What we’re seeing is a Government that’s soft on crime.
“We’ve seen a 40 per cent increase in retail crime and we have 292 retail crime incidents each and every day in New Zealand. That’s up from 140 [each day] back in 2018.
“We don’t have to accept this as the status quo. We want the Government to consider and implement our plan, which is about backing our police, tackling gangs and dealing with serious youth offenders.”
The police data showing an almost 40 per cent rise in retail crime last year was obtained by Mitchell, who says the figure shows crime is “surging” under Labour.
The Counties Manukau Police district, which includes east Auckland, saw a 63 per cent increase in retail crime last year.
“Labour is utterly asleep at the wheel on crime,” Mitchell says.
“The tsunami of ram-raids, retail crime, youth offending and rampant growth in gang membership are the direct result of Labour’s soft approach to law and order.”
National wants to introduce a new Young Serious Offender category for young repeat criminals, create Young Offender Military Academies and give police more powers to tackle gangs.
A police spokesperson says a youth has been charged in relation to the break-in at The Rib House on March 4.
