Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The Retail Crime Prevention Programme was established to deliver protective equipment rather than provide funding directly to retailers.

Police are identifying eligible retailers through an assessment process and contacting these businesses to confirm eligibility and determine appropriate prevention solutions.
 

Police have been actively identifying and contacting small retailers who have been a victim of a ram raid style burglary or an aggravated robbery since November 2021. If you have had a ram raid or aggravated robbery and not been phoned or visited by a member of the Retail Crime Prevention Programme you can use this form to send us your details.

We will review all information provided and undertake a further assessment via phone. If suitable, an onsite assessment will be undertaken to confirm eligibility.

A burglary refers to entry or attempted entry into a building without permission with the intent to commit a crime.

A robbery refers to theft or attempted theft of property accompanied by force or the threat of violence to a person or property.

A ram raid is a burglary or robbery in which a vehicle has been used to enter, or attempt to enter, a premises.
 

An aggravated robbery refers to a robbery that involved serious injury to someone, two or more people working together in a robbery, or a robbery where the offender had a weapon.

Note: A vehicle does not need to have been used to enter or attempt to enter the premises to constitute an aggravated robbery.
 

The Retail Crime Prevention Programme’s role is to identify eligible locations, initiate a conversation with the store owner and conduct an on-site assessment to determine appropriate prevention solutions. This can range from the installation of protective equipment including a fog cannon, siren, alarm, roller doors, or bollards, to tailored prevention advice.
 

Police is currently working at pace to deliver this programme.

Work is on-going to identify eligible retailers and then deploy staff to visit each retail store to assess their security needs to determine appropriate security solutions.

Police have established a panel of suppliers of protective equipment who are supplying and installing products for the small retailers as part of the Retail Crime Prevention Programme.
 

On 8 August, a Public Notice inviting potential suppliers to submit Expressions of Interest to be part of a panel supplying and installing equipment for the programme was sent to 2500 NZ Security Association Members via email.

A panel of suppliers has now been established and expressions of interest are closed. If the Programme requires more suppliers in the future, another advertisement will be posted.
 

In general terms, when investigating, Police would consider taking the following actions:

• Interviewing victims and witnesses to obtain information about the circumstances of the offending, descriptions of suspects, and other information that may be relevant to the investigation or immediate response
• Providing crime prevention advice to business owners to reduce the possibility of re-victimisation
• Referring victims (and where required witnesses) to support agencies, such as Victim Support
• Conducting a scene examination, including collection of evidence (such as physical exhibits or viewing CCTV), taking photographs, and assessing potential forensic evidence
• Conducting wider inquiries in the neighbourhood to assist in identifying and apprehending suspects
• Additional assessments to determine whether this offence may be linked to other similar incidents
• Conducting search warrants to locate stolen property
   

Police have been actively identifying and contacting small retailers who have been a victim of a ram raid style burglary or robbery since November 2021.

A ram raid refers to a burglary or robbery in which a vehicle has been used to gain entry to the premise (e.g., a car has been driven through a shop window).

If you are a small retailer that has been the victim of a ram raid and have not been phoned or visited by a member of the Retail Crime Prevention Programme you can use this form to send us your details.

We will review all information provided and undertake a further assessment via phone. If suitable, an onsite assessment will be undertaken to confirm eligibility.

Ram Raid Victim contact form

Police have been actively identifying and contacting small retailers who have been a victim of an aggravated robbery since 1 November 2021.

An aggravated robbery refers to a robbery that involves serious injury to someone, two or more people working together in a robbery, or a robbery where the offender had a weapon.

If you have had an aggravated robbery and not been phoned or visited by a member of the Retail Crime Prevention Programme, you can use this form to send us your details.

We will review all information provided and undertake a further assessment via phone. If suitable, an onsite assessment will be undertaken to confirm eligibility.
 

After your initial assessment with Police, a security contractor will contact you to arrange a security assessment and quote. This visit and quote should happen within 2-3 weeks following your initial assessment with Police. The security contractor will let you know the timeframe for installation. The contractors are working to complete all work as soon as practical, but due to high demand there could be delays between assessment/quote and final installation.

If retailers have questions about installation timeframes following an assessment, please get in touch with your local security contractor who performed the security assessment and quote.

On 28 November 2022, the government announced a $4000 subsidy for small retailers towards the installation of a fog cannon. This subsidy is being managed by MBIE not Police. More information on the scheme including an expression of interest form can be found on their website.
 

Yes – if you meet the criteria for the MBIE Fog Canon Subsidy Scheme, you can apply for their scheme for additional fog cannons even if you have received support from the Retail Crime Prevention Programme.

If you are eligible for support from both Police’s Retail Crime Prevention Programme and the MBIE subsidy scheme, we strongly recommend having Police’s Retail Crime Prevention security measures installed BEFORE you apply for an additional fog cannon through the MBIE subsidy scheme. If you have a MBIE fog cannon installed first this may not be compatible with the alarms included as part of Police’s Retail Crime Prevention Programme.

You can still apply for the MBIE Fog Cannon Subsidy to get additional fog cannons AFTER you have received support from the Retail Crime Prevention Programme, but you cannot use the subsidy to reimburse any costs from the Retail Crime Prevention Programme.

More information on MBIEs Fog Cannon Subsidy Scheme including an application form can be found on their website.