Decisions on government solutions for the ram raids in Auckland and Waikato - including funding for things like bollards - are expected to go to Cabinet for sign-off on Monday.
Poto Williams Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Business owners, particularly in Auckland, have been reporting 15 to 20 ram raids each week, which they say is a marked increase on previous years, prompting calls for the installation of countermeasures like bollards.
Minister of Police Poto Williams this morning confirmed a paper was being finalised tomorrow for final signoff by Cabinet on Monday, with an announcement to come shortly after that.
"We're looking at a process to help retailers - small retailers - feel more secure in the delivery of their mahi, so it'll be a range of measures. There won't be one solution but it will be supporting them to be safe in their premises."
It would include investment as well as coordination, she said.
"There's a range of measures ... one of the things we point to often is bollards, but in some cases under some local authorities they're not going to go in place, they're not appropriate, so we're looking at other things that might support them as well."
Community leaders had called for funding for services to help educate and support young people, after the government announced increased funding for police over the weekend.
There have also been concerns media coverage could be exacerbating the problem, and some government data suggests youth crime nationwide is in fact decreasing.
The solutions would focus on where the raids had been happening - in Auckland and Waikato - and targeted to people who were unable to tackle the problem without support, Williams said.
Minister of Finance Grant Robertson yesterday said the approach would be similar to what had been done with fog cannon installation in the past, "where the government can a carry part of the cost - potentially quite a large part of the cost - of installation of those".
Grant Robertson Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
The government added $370,000 to a $1.8 million fund set up under the previous National government in 2017 for covering some of the cost of installing fog cannons in at-risk dairies.
Police later reported the programme had led to a sharp decrease in dairy robberies.
Robertson said it was the government's intention to provide support for bollard installation and possible alternatives, and the funding could come from a range of sources.