Police Commissioner Richard Chambers is reassuring the retail community and the public that retail crime is one of his top priorities, saying a recent memo was confusing and unhelpful.
Commissioner Chambers said the wrong message had been sent to the retail community and the public about the Police approach as a result of confusion about the memo which referred to thresholds for retail crime.
“I have made retail crime one of the priorities for the Police executive and that means increasing the focus on it. The memo has been confusing and unhelpful and does not meet my expectations on retail crime or the expectations of the retail community.”
“I have asked for a reminder to be issued to all District Commanders that they should continue to catch offenders wherever possible, regardless of the memo’s thresholds.
“It is my expectation Police continue to work hard to catch offenders wherever possible. Our role is to enforce the law. If we were to take our focus off that, we are giving license to offenders to commit crime. That will not happen.”
“That is important for Police, for the retail community and for trust and confidence with the wider public.
“Retail crime is increasing and we are working closely with the retail community to address it. I want them to have confidence that we will continue to do so.”
He said there were examples of successful approaches to retail crime, such as in Tauranga and Gisborne where a combination of dedicated teams, highly visible beat police and close work with the retail community had paid dividends.
Executive Director Service, Victims and Resolutions, Rachael Bambery, said District Commanders were being reminded today that districts continued to have discretion to investigate crimes, taking into account the context and available resources.
“Early case closure is not final as new information and patterns often allow Police to revisit cases, for example where a small number of offenders can be linked to multiple offences.”
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre.