An Auckland retailer says he's not eligible for the Government's fog cannon subsidy despite being burgled multiple times this year.
After a terrorising year of crime, the Government is coughing up to help businesses install fog cannons but jewellery store TJ Handcrafted is still missing out.
The store in Botany town centre was ransacked earlier this year - the third time he'd been burgled in seven months - with another two attempted break-ins since.
But it isn't eligible for Government funding for fog cannons due to it supposedly being protected by the shopping centre's security.
Owner TJ Haddadin told AM that security wasn't enough to stop crime.
"Security is restricted," he told host Melissa Chan-Green. "They can only do so much anyway, in any shopping mall."
He said he'd decided to pay for his own fog cannon instead.
"It's the most important thing… in the shop because it's a very powerful tool… I've been trying with those fog cannons for the last three years and we couldn't get approvals. Finally, we just installed it and we said - 'We've got no options but to do it' and we just went for it."
Haddadin said despite the fog cannon he still feels unsafe and reiterated claims he made earlier in the year that New Zealand felt less safe than South Africa.
"To be honest with you, I've lived in places like Jordan, Dubai, South Africa, Texas and New Zealand and I've never, ever felt unsafe like this."
And it isn't just at work. Haddadin said he didn't feel safe in his own home.
Auckland was gripped by a crime wave this year with spates of ram-raids and smash-and-grab burglaries. Police data showed burglaries shot up to 22,711 between November 2021 and October 2022 - compared with 18,778 for the previous period.
Additionally, thefts jumped to 67,553 from 53,781 over the same timeframe.
The Government established the fog cannon subsidy scheme late last month after the fatal stabbing of a dairy worker in the Auckland suburb of Sandringham.
Small Business Minister Stuart Nash said on Thursday retailers could access the scheme from February.
Eligibility for the scheme included having no more than two outlets with five or fewer paid employees and having a street frontage, meaning outlets in indoor malls where security was provided wouldn't be eligible, the Government said.
