Left feeling “terrorised” by gangs of marauding youth, Masterton retailers are to be invited to join a business group led by the Masterton mayor Gary Caffell to work on solutions to address the social disorder.
A second group will be formed to develop a multi-agency approach to dealing with the problem, with members including the leaders of community agencies including the Masterton District Council (MDC), police, the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Education, and Kāinga Ora.
The community response is being developed to respond to incidents involving youth gangs with members as young as nine “terrorising Masterton retailers” according to the local newspaper the Wairarapa Times-Age.
New World Masterton owner Clive Webber told Wairarapa MP Kieran McAnulty he was concerned for the safety of his customers and staff, who were facing daily abuse by youth gang members.
“From simple stealing, this has now grown to my staff being verbally assaulted on a daily basis.”
According to the Times-Age, a middle-aged staff member was recently punched in the head, and the abuse had forced the store to close on at least one occasion.
“After four incidents yesterday [Thursday, January 12] with the youth, my team is not in a good space at all, with the late shift having to close the shop,” Webber said.
The problem was first raised last April and since then has significantly escalated.
Webber said the group of about a dozen kids was well known to other Masterton retailers and police. He called for a roadmap to “get these kids back on the right path”.
“Is this a generational thing? Have we put our heads in the sand? I’m not sure. It’s the experts that need to tell us what has gone wrong and what we can do to rectify it,” he said in an open letter to McAnulty.
“We need to assist these kids and not be the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff in a few years’ time.”
The new business group, under Caffell’s leadership will include former mayor Bob Francis, Christine Brewster from the Masterton Trust Lands Trust and current councillor Stella Lennox.
Five initiatives Retail NZ believes will reduce violence in retail
All retailers in Masterton District will be approached to develop a contacts database to support the initiative.
“It is envisaged that once this group is established it will be led from within the retail community and supported by the council,” the MDC said in a statement issued Thursday.
Meanwhile, McAnulty promised to continue to work with Webber, other local businesses, and authorities to address the problem.
Note: Featured image for illustrative purposes only.
