The father of the dairy worker who was fatally stabbed last week says he doesn't want another person to face the same fate as his son.
Protests were held around the country on Monday outside several politicians' offices and many dairies closed in solidarity after Janak Patel was stabbed in Auckland last Wednesday night. A man allegedly took the cash register drawer from Rose Cottage Superette in Sandringham and Janak followed him out into the street.
His death shocked the tight-knit community and sparked calls for the Government to do more to crack down on crime.
A large crowd gathered outside Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's office on Monday, with some holding signs reading, "Enough is enough. We want action now".
Among those who were outside was Kalidas Patel, Janak's father, who spoke through a translator and called on the Government to take action.
"If the Government is not listening, they should listen and they should act accordingly. Regardless of the age of the person who commits the crime, the punishment should be harsher so people can go on with their work," he said.
Through tears, he begged the Government to ensure the people responsible for his son's death receive the "harshest punishment". He added he doesn't want "another Janak" to lose their life.
Others in the crowd outside the Prime Minister's office said Janak's death "has to be a turning point" for New Zealand.
"It doesn't matter whether you sit in Parliament, whether you sit at home or in a dairy, we are all citizens of this country and we are all responsible for this country," one person said.
On Monday afternoon, the Government announced a new crime package, where small shops and dairies can get a $4000 subsidy to access a fog cannon from an approved supplier.
Some local councils are also getting additional funding. There's $2 million for Auckland Council, $1 million for Hamilton Council, and $1 million for councils in the Bay of Plenty. This will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the councils.
Additionally, the $6 million Retail Crime Prevention Fund will be extended to aggravated robbery, not just ram raids.
Police Minister Chris Hipkins said this will be the first time the fog cannon and ram raid funds have operated at the same time.
"Despite global supply chain issues, Police has been successful in ordering an extra 455 fog cannons, which are expected to arrive before Christmas. This adds to the 270 fog cannons that are currently in the country and have been allocated to affected shops," Hipkins said.
"More challenging will be the time it takes to install them. The 1000 fog cannons that are already installed took four years, and despite Police doubling the number of local contractors that will do the work to six, it's expected it will take till the second quarter of next year for the number of installations to start to ramp up."
