Ardern rejects claims Government is 'pro-criminal'

November 28, 2022

The Prime Minister has rejected claims that her Government is too soft on crime following public outrage over the death of a Sandringham dairy worker during a robbery.

The stabbing of Janak Patel has created national outrage, with many saying the Government has failed to protect those who are most at risk of facing crimes like aggravated robbery.

Jacinda Ardern told Breakfast that while she understands the need for people to express grief, she would push back on accusations that the Government is "pro-criminal".

"There's a lot of grief, and people are going to express that in their own way; I understand that - the one thing that I want to ensure is that we are discussing the issues as they are," she said.

Jacinda Ardern told Breakfast that while she understands the need for people to express grief, she would push back on accusations that the Government is "pro-criminal".

"The accusation that we are pro-criminal, I push back on - you will not find a decrease in any of the penalties in any of the criminal areas that we've been discussing today - we have not lessened, but increased the resources for police."

She said that while it may seem like crime is out of control, only certain types of crime, like ram-raids, have spiked while others are happening less often.

"We have had a spike in particularly ram-raids and burglaries for shops; interestingly, we've seen it come away in other areas," Ardern said.

"We've seen heightened attention on one type of crime; that's when we've got to make sure we're putting in that prevention."

It comes after Auckland dairy worker Janak Patel died in an alleged stabbing last week.

Ardern said that several Government-introduced measures designed to stop crimes like ram-raids have been working, and the Government is committed to continued action on burglaries and aggravated robberies.

"We've worked on programmes to try and work with families because if you're a 12- or 13-year-old and you're engaging in that there are other problems, roughly half of those we've managed to reengage in education and training, and we've brought the reoffending rate down," she said

"Ram-raids have started coming down; last I checked, there were about 13 this month."

Shop owners around the country have shut their doors in protests at the violent death of Janak Patel.

She said this drop is due to prosecutions obtained after the Government increased funding to police, allowing them to bring in new officers.

She also said the Government would continue to help support stores with crime prevention measures like CCTV, bollards and glass screens for counters.

Alongside these measures, Ardern said the Government would meet with community business groups across the country to understand what support is needed.

Ardern's comments come after she attended Patel's funeral, where she hugged his widow.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was among several MPs who were present.

She said being around his mourning loved ones "brings it back to the fact that this was someone's life that has been taken and a family that's been shattered".

"It was deeply moving," she said.

Ardern told Breakfast that while she wouldn't usually attend funerals as they are private moments, she felt it was something she had to do.

"It was in my community, I'm the local MP, so I wanted to make sure that I was doing right by my community but also the family."

The Prime Minister said she will discuss further measures to stop crimes when cabinet meets today.

A nationwide 'solidarity vigil' taking place at midday will see shop owners stand outside their businesses for two hours - a group will also gather in front of the Prime Minister's electorate office in Mount Albert.

SHARE ME

More Stories