Still from Total Vision’s CCTV footage showing the ram raid and smoke from the burning car filling the practice

Following the business’ second ram raid in two weeks, Paul Rose, optometrist and co-owner of Hamilton East’s Total Vision optometrists, warned other practice owners to be wary of falling victim to the same problem. “If they’ve got a retail front and there’s easy road access, they should be looking very carefully at beefing up their security, because at the moment, the police are pretty powerless against these young kids.”

Total Vision, which Rose co-owns with optometrist Kent Napier, was first ram raided in mid-August, when the perpetrators, aged 11 to 18, smashed a door panel and within two minutes cleaned out sunglass stock worth more than $13,000. Rose said the practice hadn’t even restocked its sunwear when they were hit for a second time at the end of August. CCTV footage from inside the practice caught the failed ram-raid attempt in the early hours of the morning. It shows the offenders trying to ram the practice’s front door twice before getting stuck. The driver then accelerates, possibly trying to break free, causing the tyres to smoke and the car to burst into flames. The offenders then took off in a second stolen car, leaving the first car to burn out. Total Vision was one of five retailers targeted that night, all within three hours, confirmed the police.

The offenders might not have got in, but the damage they did to the practice was significant, said Rose. “They left an incredible mess. The amount of burnt rubber that came off the wheels went straight through the practice. Every surface had to be wiped down, all the frames had to be cleaned; there was just black rubber everywhere.”

Rose said he shared CCTV footage of the event with the media to show the damage the ram raiders do. “They have no scruples at all. They could so easily have set the whole building on fire.” To his knowledge, at least two other optometrists have also been ram raided this year, both in Hamilton. So practice owners need to be aware they are targeting optometrists, he said, as well as other retailers.

Rose said he’s now investigating the installation of security screens for his practice, which can be pulled down at night and locked. Ram-raid posts aren’t an option, however, as they require council consent and the council isn’t too keen on having its footpaths destroyed, he said. He’s in discussion with the police about accessing the government’s $6 million Small Retailer Crime Prevention Fund, which was set up to support vulnerable, small businesses targeted by ram raiders. Lockable screens and fog machines, which quickly fill a store with thick fog if the glass is damaged, are both recommended by the police as deterrents.

Responding to recent media enquiries, acting-assistant police commissioner David Lynch said there had been more than 1,000 ram raids and 768 people arrested in connected to ram raids since 2017. The police are also reporting an increase in stolen vehicles linked to ram raids and burglaries with Mazda Demios and Nissan Tiidas being two of the most common models stolen as they lack some of the security features of their bigger counterparts, such as immobilisers and alarms.

The police established a dedicated taskforce to help with the increasing ram-raid problem, which is reportedly visiting affected and vulnerable businesses to share crime-prevention tips. In answer to NZ Optics’ questions, however, about how many optometrists had been targeted, a police spokesperson said they don’t keep records of crimes by retail type, but by offence, so had no data on optometrists per se.

Following the two incidents, Rose said the practice’s patients had been very supportive, with one even dropping off three bottles of specially designed ‘store perfume’ to counter the burning rubber smell.