A beachfront Auckland shopkeeper is furious after police took 80 minutes to respond to a shoplifting incident on 23 July, 2024, despite his employees detaining the alleged thief, The New Zealand Herald reported.
Inside the Liquorland Boutique on Kohimarama’s Melanesia Rd, the store owner's son spoke with The Herald while the intruder remained restrained.
Duna Mittal recounted that a worker apprehended one man after a second individual began removing liquor bottles from the shelves.
“Our staff managed to hold one person and keep him aside until the police arrived – I called them multiple times,” Mittal said.
The detained man stayed silent, which Mittal attributed to his realisation of his wrongdoing. Meanwhile, the second individual escaped with three bottles of gin before staff could intervene.
Police confirmed that the shoplifting report was made around 4 p.m. They stated that one man had stolen alcohol and fled the scene.
“An associate of this man was still inside the store at the time. Alongside other demands, police attended this evening to conduct further inquiries,” a police spokesman said.
Mittal was outraged by the delayed police response.
“My issue is that the cops’ response time is absolutely atrocious,” he said.
“Now we’ve been told we’re not even allowed to hold him because he didn’t steal, as he didn’t walk out with anything.”
Mittal was informed by 111 dispatchers that police were occupied with other incidents. He deemed this “ridiculous” and questioned the criteria for police prioritisation.
“Does somebody have to be dying for anyone to respond quickly these days?” he shared with Herald.
The police spokesman mentioned ongoing follow-up inquiries into the shoplifting. Officers arrested the man held by the shop’s employees due to an unrelated warrant.
Efforts to identify and locate the remaining suspect would continue, the spokesman added.
He emphasised that individuals should immediately contact the police in similar situations.
“Our priority is safety, and we encourage anyone in these circumstances to contact police immediately,” he said.
A similar incident occurred last June in Christchurch, where a business owner and tradies performed a citizen’s arrest on a thief stealing motorcycle parts. They were equally disappointed with the police response after being instructed to “let him go.”
Christchurch Metro Area Commander Superintendent Lane Todd explained that the police couldn’t attend every call-out “due to the nature of police work.”
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