New data released to the New Zealand Herald shows that ram raids were 70 per cent worse in 2022 than previously thought, National’s Police spokesperson Mark Mitchell says.

“The Government’s data shows 886 ram-raid incidents in 2022 – one every ten hours. These figures are staggering.

“Based on answers to Parliamentary questions, National previously understood that 524 ram raids occurred in 2022. Instead, the actual figure is almost 70 per cent worse than we thought.

“It’s clear that criminals believe they can operate with impunity under a Government that is soft on crime and more interesting in spinning the ram raid figures than actually fixing the problem.

“This revised ram-raid data comes just days after National revealed that overall retail crime in 2022 jumped by 40 per cent in a single year.

“Labour is all at sea when it comes to law and order, and these figures prove it.

“This morning on Newstalk ZB, the Police Minister said that that he finds retail crime “annoying”, and that judges aren’t doing enough.

“Annoying is not the word used by the dairy owner I spoke to last week. For him, skyrocketing levels of retail crime have pushed him to the limit. It has been terrifying, endlessly stressful, and enough for him to get out of the business altogether.

“Labour has been in Government for more than five years, but their only target in law and order is to reduce the prison population by 30 per cent, regardless of the scale of criminal activity. Labour is woefully soft on crime, and Kiwis continue to pay the price.

“Unlike Labour, National has a plan to restore law and order. It’s time for the Government to get tough on crime, and it should start by adopting National’s plan to back police and tackle gangs, and our plan to combat youth offending.”

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