“North Island Retail Crime retail crime figures released by Foodstuffs today show that the Labour government has totally lost control of crime and must go,” said ACT Leader David Seymour.

“Foodstuffs has said that they have never seen retail crime at these levels. Never. This is not a surprise to ACT MPs who regularly meet with people who have been directly affected by crime, but it is an appalling indictment of Labour’s record in office.

"Chris Hipkins and Ginny Anderson need to get out of the back of their comfy Crown limos and face the reality that retailers are under siege," said ACT Leader David Seymour.

“This Labour government’s policies are directly responsible for this problem. The government has cut the prison population and repeat offenders are now responsible for 36% of all reported retail crime incidents, up 34% in a year.

"The verdict is in on Labour's experiment to release 30% of people from jail: it has failed. Retailers are being terrorised by thugs who don't believe this Government is going to do anything to them.

“Foodstuffs also report that serious incidents affecting their staff such as burglary, assault, robbery, and other aggressive, violent, and threatening behaviour are up 36% on the same time last year. Violent criminals need to be caught and punished, not tagged and released as Labour would have it.

“They’ve made crime worse through their misguided policies, and then want praise for hiring more police to catch the crooks they tag and release.

“There is no point asking the government to address this issue, they don’t want to, and they don’t know how. They simply must go.

“ACT knows what to do, ACT has clear policies in place to fix the problem at its source, and ACT will make sure there is real change if they are elected this October:

• ACT will review the use of electronic monitoring for violent offenders and abolish the prison population reduction target, to directly target repeat offending.
• ACT will end the build more prison beds so that serious offenders are put behind bars.
• ACT will require individuals to complete skills or rehabilitation programmes prior to being considered for parole. There will be no early release without rehabilitation.
• ACT will bring back three strikes for violent offenders, and a separate Three Strikes regime for burglary offences.
• ACT will introduce an infringement notice offence for shoplifting, resulting in instant, practical punishments such as fines and community service to ensure the shoplifter takes responsibility for their offending.
• ACT will introduce ankle bracelets for serious youth offenders.

New Zealanders are sick of crime and criminals. It is government's first duty to keep people safe, and ACT will not hesitate to do it.

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