Following the murder of an Auckland dairy worker Janak Patel, Masterton retailers attended a meeting to discuss retail crime prevention.
Masterton District Council [MDC] hosted a meeting on Wednesday night attended by councillors, police, shopkeepers, and community groups.
It was an open-ended discussion of the problems facing Masterton’s business community and potential areas for improvement.
Mayor Gary Caffell said he sympathised with dairy workers, acknowledging that he had never had to work at night.
“The idea for this meeting was to get proactive solutions for preventing retail crime.
“Our message to the business community is that we have your back, and if we can do anything to help, we want to do it,” Caffell said.
Attendees supported restarting a retailers group that would include police, council, and community representatives to meet regularly.
Meeting chair Corin Haines said the idea of the group was to ensure all parties maintained good communication as issues emerged.
Caffell said he thought the meeting was a success.
Dairy owner Kishor Maisuria said he had problems with groups of youth coming into his shop and intimidating him at night.
“They come as a group and steal or ask for free stuff; they are just trying to waste time and make us angry.
“Parents are responsible; we ask, where are the parents?” Maisuria said.
He said authorities should punish youths for their criminal actions.
“They all understand that is what they’re doing.
“If it’s a crime, it’s a crime,” Maisuria said.
Iwi representative for MDC Jo Hayes suggested Masterton increase involvement from their Community Patrol organisation [CPNZ].
“That would get the police an extra pair of eyes to help see the crime.
“Our community respects these people; it would be a helpful strategy for our town,” Hayes said.
Other retailers agreed that increased CPNZ and visible police presence would effectively prevent crime in Masterton CBD.
Senior Sergeant Bradley Allen said that police patrol central Masterton but could be diverted to higher-priority incidents involving threats of violence against a person or property.
“Community patrols and Maori wardens are currently working with police in the Masterton CBD.
“Police in Wairarapa work with three other Community patrols in Carterton, Greytown and Featherston.
“These partners are critical to keeping Wairarapa safe,” Allen said.
Gary Caffell said the meeting was positive and constructive.
“It was a very positive and constructive meeting, with excellent input from retailers and the police, as well as other groups.
“I look forward to the council continuing to facilitate those linkages,” Caffell said.
