Dairy owners call for more support as funding after robbery preventing fog cannons dries up

Dairy owners are calling on the government for more support after funding for robbery-preventing fog cannons has dried up.

It comes as a shop in Taupo was robbed for the fourteenth time in four years of being open last week.

Krishna Food and Spices was hit by a group of young men at 1 AM who broke the shop front glass and raided their store.

It forced store manager Davinder Cchoker to sleep outside the premises in a van that night to protect the store.

"The fear, the phobia, the trauma we get is really hard to deal with." he told 1 News.

They've installed costly high definition cameras and roller doors to protect themselves and their business.

"Each robbery cost two to three grand, so as well as financially stressed we are mentally depressed."

A government subsidy scheme for fog cannons and other security measures was established in 2017.

Since then, almost four hundred and fifty dairies deemed, 'at risk' have taken up the offer.... Mainly in Auckland, Tauranga and Hamilton.

Davinder Cchoker has approached police for a fog cannon, but the funding's run out. He's pleading for the funding to continue.

"We don't make a lot of money I think the government really need to help us."

The one point eight million dollar subsidy scheme has been exhausted, and the government has not yet decided whether to put more money in.

In the past year aggravated robberies have halved in Auckland... One of the main areas cannons have been installed.

Police say they've prevented harm to shop keepers and reduced shop losses.

Police minister Stuart Nash hasn't decided whether to extend the scheme.

"I've asked police to do an analysis of how well its worked and they'll go out and talk to people who have obviously implemented these things to make sure it is good value for money,"

Sunny Kaushal who represents dairy owners says millions more is needed to stop crime against dairy owners but more needs to be done to stop robberies before they happen.

"There's a criminal intent, there's a behaviour problem there needs to be a deterrent factor, the government needs to send a strong message out there to these offenders."

"The fund was too less (sic), the current government should have added more funds into that one, considering this is not a $1.8 million problem."

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The $1.8 million Government subsidy scheme has been exhausted. Source: 1 NEWS