Retail crime crack down or reckless reform?

The CEO of Retail New Zealand, Carolyn Young, has raised concerns following the Government’s recent announcement, which aims to clamp down on retail crime.

Speaking on Pacific Mornings, Young warns that the Government’s reforms, which include granting citizens greater authority to arrest or detain thieves, could put workers in danger.

“If you've got an offender in store, you actually don't know what their mindset is. You don't know if they've got a concealed weapon.

“You don't know if they're on drugs or if they're suffering from a mental illness and how they might react if you are physically interacting with them.”

She says it’s important that retailers train their staff to remain calm and avoid confrontation to reduce the chance of escalating aggression from offenders.

“We do absolutely need some changes to legislation to enable retailers to fight against the crime that we're seeing.

“But I think actually allowing anybody to physically restrain someone, use reasonable force when they haven't had any training to do so is a very dangerous pathway to go down.

“We do know that when retailers have fought back and chased offenders, that's when people have got hurt, and that's when someone unfortunately has died.”

Watch Carolyn Young's full interview below.

Government’s proposed reforms

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee recently unveiled the legislation designed to strengthen legal protections for retailers and security guards when detaining offenders.

The proposed reforms include:

• Amending the Crimes Act to allow citizens to intervene in any offence.

• Requiring anyone making an arrest to contact the police and follow their instructions.

• Clarifying that reasonable restraints can be used during an arrest.

• Expanding property defence provisions to explicitly permit reasonable force.

Photo/file

Goldsmith justified these reforms by citing an 85 per cent rise in retail crime between 2019 and 2023, including a 91 per cent increase in theft-related victimisations.

“Currently, no one, including retailers and security guards, is protected from civil or criminal liability if they arrest and detain a person stealing goods valued at less than $1000 during the day,” Goldsmith says.

“The operation of the Crimes Act 1961 hinders people from stopping offending as it occurs right in front of them.

“The economic cost of retail crime in New Zealand is in the billions, and retailers and security guards face abuse and assault that no New Zealander should be subjected to.

“This Government will ensure that people working in the retail sector are being effectively protected, are empowered to stop offending, and that offenders are caught and deterred from future offending.”

The government’s recent gang laws introduce tougher restrictions on gang activities, including greater police powers to issue dispersal notices, ban insignia in public spaces, and impose stricter penalties for gang-related offending. Photo/Paul Goldsmith Instagram

Criticism from the Opposition

Speaking on Pacific Mornings, Labour’s Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni criticises the Government’s announcement, calling it “dumb” and “irresponsible.”

“It is dumb. It is irresponsible. Consistently, we have heard the authorities say to people, please don't take the law into your own hands due to the risk that they would put on themselves if they do."

She argues that the new policy reflects the Government’s failure to tackle retail crime using traditional policing methods.

“They said that they'd deliver 500 additional police. They're not on track to be able to do that.

“Basically, I feel they promised coming into the election that this type of crime would end under their watch.

“It certainly hasn't, and now they're taking ridiculous moves like this, and I think it's dangerous.

Watch Carmel Sepuloni's full interview below.

“Retail New Zealand has come out opposed to this, rightly so, and so I just don't know who is advising the government, but it is very, very silly.”

Alternative solutions from the retail sector

Instead of expanding citizen arrest powers, Young suggests three key policies that could help retailers combat theft effectively and safely.

“One would be we absolutely, stores want to be able to get their goods back. So, being able to legitimately go up to someone and ask to get those goods returned without doing that in a physical or a touching sort of way so that it's safe, you're assessing the situation and the person actually legitimately getting those goods back," Young says.

“Then being able to trespass that person from your store because of the behaviour that's displayed in the store and that trespass law having some teeth and being able to do something about that.

“And then the third thing for the right size stores in the right locations is using technology-like facial recognition technology to identify offenders that have offended in store before so that they aren't coming back in store.

“Recidivist offending is at a rate between 35 and 50 per cent in retail. So those people that are offending are coming back time and time and time again and being able to identify them as they're entering the store and not have them come in will actually keep the stores safer for staff and for customers.”

Retail NZ is the national industry association representing New Zealand's retail sector, advocating for businesses and providing support on policy, compliance, and operational challenges. Photo/Retail NZ