Attributed to Superintendent Lane Todd, Christchurch Metro Area Commander.

Police are investigating following a number of commercial burglaries in Christchurch this morning.

Between 2.45am and 6.10am Police received seven reports of commercial burglaries, three of which were ram-raid style in which a vehicle was used to gain access to the premises.

We live in this community and we feel the pain of the retailers who are being subjected to this kind of thoughtless actions by a handful of offenders who think this kind of behaviour is acceptable. We’re working with urgency to locate the offenders and hold them to account.

In addition to responding to incidents and following-up with investigative action, we are focused on what we can do to prevent this crime and harm. Part of this is working with retailers to provide prevention advice and help them to access security equipment.

The Retail Crime Prevention Programme [1] is continuing to make progress in delivering protective equipment and additional prevention advice for retailers who have been the victim of ram raids or aggravated robberies. As at 12 July, 38 stores in Canterbury that have been the victim of a ram raid or aggravated robbery have had quotes approved and allocated, and of those, 24 have already had security interventions completed.

We also have our National Retail Investigation Support Unit targeting recidivist retail offenders, such as shoplifters, who are offending in multiple locations. So far this had included investigating 55 offenders in Canterbury District who have had 467 charges laid against them.

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