If you've ever seen a video of people robbing a store or vandalising a mall in New Zealand, you may have wondered why a security guard just doesn't step forward and stop them.
But the New Zealand Security Association said it's bound by stringent rules that often prevent guards from intervening.
The comments follow a raid on a jewellery store in the heart of Auckland's Saint Lukes Mall on Tuesday by eight mostly young offenders.
This was a brazen raid by eight young people, some reported to be as young as eight years old, on Stuart Dawsons the jewellers in Saint Lukes Mall.
Members of the public can be seen attempting to intervene but Mount Albert Business Association member Catherine Goodwin saw ambulances arrive and sirens blazing and assumed it would be catastrophic.
"That public outrage… Outrage which has been building potentially had met its peak in our suburb of Mount Albert, and so speaking frankly it was terrifying," Goodwin said.
A business owner herself, Goodwin is demanding more community policing.
"Initial reports suggested firearms were involved. The police Armed Offenders Squad was called and up to 10 ambulances turned up," she said.
It was a hot topic on morning TV.
"I go to the mall three times a week and it's pretty terrifying," Newshub's Amanda Gillies said on AM.
And the Auckland Chamber of Commerce is shocked.
"Because I think what it shows is if it's in a mall at Saint Lukes and we know this is happening somewhere kind of every other day, no business owner is immune," Auckland Chamber of Commerce CEO Simon Bridges said.
The police said they're following positive leads of inquiry and there'll be increased police presence around the area alongside regular foot patrols inside.
Saint Lukes owner's Scentre Group released a statement saying they're working directly with the police and providing ongoing support to those impacted.
Like all malls, Saint Luke's employs security guards, but they are bound by strict laws which prevent them from carrying weapons and restrict their opportunities to intervene.
"Under that, we have the same powers as you and I do. We can do a citizen's arrest but that's very, very controlled and we can only use the amount of force that's necessary in that situation," a security expert said.
"The second one is safety and take the situation we're talking about here. Six or eight offenders, would we really necessarily put a person into that situation? You don't know if they're armed."
Industry group the Jewellers and Watchmakers of New Zealand has released a statement saying the St Lukes offenders have complete disregard for the retailer, the staff members and the public.
They said they wrote to Police Minister Chris Hipkins two months ago but to date have only received acknowledgement of receipt of their letter.
Statistics released this week show the number of youth offenders in court is getting smaller but Hipkins does acknowledge the problem.
"Clearly we're seeing an escalation in activity in some parts of the country, particularly the upper part of the North Island. It is something we're taking very very seriously. It'll take a wee while to turn this around though," Hipkins said.
Many jewellers are employing their own guards, part of the reason why the number of security guards has risen from 25,000 to 35,000 in five years.
