An AM host is hitting out at an Auckland councillor's call for a multi-agency response to youth crime saying it isn't achieving anything.
It comes after a spate of jewellery store smash and grabs in Auckland over the past few weeks. On Monday, thieves armed with hammers smashed their way into an Auckland jewellery store in broad daylight. Officers were called to Tj Handcrafted on Chapel St in East Tāmaki at 2:30pm.
It was followed by an attempted burglary in west Auckland. Around 6pm police said a group of offenders armed with various tools unsuccessfully tried to break into a Michael Hill store at the LynnMall shopping centre.
On Tuesday AM host Ryan Bridge said the burglaries are incredibly traumatic for onlookers and more needs to be done.
Bridge also criticised Auckland Councillor Chris Darby's response to the increase in burglaries.
On Monday, Darby said a multi-agency response was needed to tackle the issue.
"There's a lot of multi-agency support that needs to be given and that's for all of us to participate in and it's also for us as a community to start questioning where are our kids? What are they up to?" Darby said.
But Bridge hit back saying the suggestion doesn't actually solve anything.
"I'm sorry but are we still buying this kind of like, 'It's a multi-agency response and a multi-agency pronged approach'? I listen to that and my eyes glaze over," he said.
Bridge also went on to criticise an AM viewer's suggestion the cost of living crisis was to blame for the increase in crime.
"Now already I've got my hackles up," Bridge said while reading out the feedback. "Because they are not stealing food are they? They're trying to steal jewellery".
But co-host Melissa Chan-Green pointed out they might be stealing jewellery to sell to pay for essentials.
This suggestion was disputed by AM newsreader Bernadine Oliver-Kerb who said they were stealing the jewellery for "drugs, iPhones and cool shoes".
Bridge agreed, saying the country has a welfare system for people who are struggling.
"We've got a welfare system as well. If you are truly hard up in this country you can get help," he pointed out.
Chan-Green agreed, calling for the justice system to actually ensure there were consequences to deter repeat offenders.
But she pointed out it is a complex issue and harsher consequences won't fix everything.
"We need the consequences to prevent people from doing this in the first place. We need these people to actually be caught and the justice system to actually do something about it so they don't just go out the next weekend and police have to waste their time with the same people.
"[But] it has to come from both sides, you have to look at the consequences and also the prevention measures. And why aren't their families aware of where they are? Why aren't their families dobbing them in? Why has it got to the point where it's okay for them to go out and steal a car within their family? So it is a complex situation," she argued.
But Bridge hit back, saying it's not complex and calls for a multi-agency approach don't actually fix the issue.
"Everyone says it's complex and we need a multi-pronged approach but that gets us nowhere."
Earlier in the year, police said a wider community approach is needed to address an increase in ram-raids, especially by young people.
Counties Manukau detective inspector Karen Bright told AM in April while police take the issue very seriously, the whole community needs to do its part.
"We treat them [ram raids] seriously, we do absolutely everything we can, we use a range of investigative tools and we really want to identify those responsible so that this offending does not continue.
"[But] when we've got 11-year-olds out in the middle of the night driving stolen cars and crashing into retail stores, there is a bigger problem out there.
"There is a part that other people can play including social media, parents, the wider community, keeping these kids in school and people who are receiving these stolen goods. There's a lot of things that can be done and it's not just a police issue to solve."
