About 200 business owners and protesters have gathered in Papatoetoe calling for tougher punishments for youth offenders after a recent hammer attack during a robbery by teenagers left a jewellery store owner with a fractured skull.

Protest organiser Rajesh Goel said businesses were fed up with the Government’s “catch and let go” policy that was allowing criminals to reoffend “days after getting arrested”.

“This protest is to tell the Government that enough is enough, and we want stronger laws to keep these criminals off the streets so that they cannot come back to hurt us,” Goel told the Herald.

Goel said the protesters could resort to hunger strikes if their demands were not met.

“The Government can change immigration laws overnight. Why can’t they do the same with criminal laws to protect business people?

Business owners protesting in Papatoetoe over increasing violence and crime by young people. Photo / Dean Purcell

“We want a change in legislation so that the courts can treat criminals as criminals, even if these criminals are teenagers.”

On Sunday, July 23, Gurdeep Singh, 50, was seriously injured after being struck over the head by a hammer and stabbed in the forehead by teenage robbers at his family-owned Pooja Jewellers store on Kolmar Rd in Papatoetoe.

Three people aged 15, 16 and 17 alleged to have been involved in the attack were arrested and charged with aggravated robbery with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Detective Inspector Karen Bright said further arrests were likely.

Most shops in Papatoetoe shut between 10am and 11am today to protest against the violent attack on Singh and to show solidarity with other local businesses that had been hit by crime.

Shop owners in Papatoetoe feel they are being targeted by criminals. Photo / Dean Purcell

Goel, who is president of the Auckland Indian Retailers Association, said Singh was recovering at home and was not well enough to attend the protest.

The Government announced new measures last month to tackle youth crime, including harsher penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment for teenagers between 14 and 17 who have committed two offences.

These serious offenders may be sent to a military-style boot camp, and the programme is aimed to reduce youth reoffending by 15%.

“We have not seen any difference, and retailers and business owners are truly scared and worried about opening their shops every day,” Goel said.

Gurdeep Singh’s elder brother, Kuldeep Singh, told the crowd it felt good to see business owners shutting their shops in support of Gurdeep.

The protesters want tougher punishment for criminals. Photo / Dean Purcell

After the protest, Goel said several of those involved would be staging a 15-day hunger strike outside Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s electoral office in Botany.

Gurinder Singh, a butcher at Khanz Halal Butchery and Superette, said the business had experienced three serious robberies since the new owners took over in January.

In one instance, robbers took off with the entire cash register.

“We feel insecure because, even after making police reports, there has been no progress or arrests,” he said.

“Because of this, we feel like the same criminals could just come back to target us again.”

ACT list member Dr Parmjeet Parma attended the protest. She said she stood with the protesters and wanted to ensure their voices were being heard.

Khanz Halal Butchery and Superette has experienced three robberies since January. Photo / Dean Purcell

Meanwhile, Hospitality New Zealand partnered with police to run a workshop at SkyCity on Monday to provide businesses with practical advice on safety and crime prevention.

“We want our hospitality and accommodation businesses to be successful. Part of that is working in a safe environment for operators, their staff and customers,” HNZ chief executive Steve Armitage said.

Police National Retail Investigation Support Unit manager Matt Tierney, who spoke at the workshop, told attendees that retail criminals caught by police were all repeat offenders.

The unit had laid 2254 charges against 383 offenders since it started in May 2022, and 534 aggravated robbery offenders had court proceedings initiated against them. A further 99 were going through non-court and youth processes for aggravated robbery over the past 12 months.

Police National Retail Investigation Support Unit manager Matt Tierney spoke to business owners about retail crime prevention on Monday at a workshop at SkyCity.

Assistant Commissioner Investigations Paul Basham said officers had been focused on providing reassurance to retail business communities.

There has been a spate of aggravated robberies at petrol stations, jewellers and malls in Auckland.

“Unfortunately, we’ve seen an increase in aggravated robberies, though not to the same extent we saw with ram raids.

“However, we know some incidents have involved some of the same group of offenders.”

Steve Armitage, chief executive of Hospitality New Zealand, speaking at the SkyCity workshop.

He added that anyone undertaking “such a vicious act” could expect to be “met with the full force of policing”.

“We won’t tolerate this behaviour and will do everything in our power to prevent it and hold any offenders to account.”

Many of the young people found to be committing these offences came from backgrounds of neglect, violence and abuse, he said.