The surveillance camera is being filmed, but the police do not come: Zero yuan purchase changes New Zealand, why is theft no longer shameful?

New Zealand Chinese Pioneer Network Kenny Report Recently, a memorandum of internal New Zealand police caused an uproar.

The internal notice, implemented on March 26, has attracted attention because it refers to a “National Unified Amount Threshold” directive, listing the amount of losses that police may not investigate during the preliminary assessment phase: for example, gasoline theft is $150, general commodity theft is $200, store theft is $500, and online fraud is $1,000.

The public questioned whether police would still handle thefts worth less than $500 as the memorandum mentioned setting a threshold for losses for retail crimes. Faced with doubts, Police Minister Mark Mitchell and Police Chief Richard Chambers spoke out one after another, emphasizing that the police will never let any crime be ignored.

Mitchell clarified that this is an internal document obtained through the Information Disclosure Act, and the wording is misunderstood. He reiterated the government’s position that all crimes should be responded to by the police, “Don’t think you can get away with theft of goods worth less than $500. If there is surveillance or other solid evidence, the police will follow up.”

Although senior police officials endorsed the letter and said they would not give up the investigation, the public opinion shock caused highlights a deeper problem – retail crime, especially the phenomenon of “zero dollar purchases” is gradually losing control across New Zealand.

According to police data, a total of 11,757 people have been convicted of store theft nationwide in the past five years, with the types of stolen goods mainly concentrated in fuel, food, clothing and cosmetics. Among them, gasoline theft accounts for nearly one-third, and gas stations have become one of the most frequently violated retail formats. The New Zealand Auto Trade Association expressed strong dissatisfaction with the police’s internal directive, saying that if petrol theft below $150 is really no longer investigated, it would greatly weaken the industry’s trust in law enforcement agencies. The association stated that gas stations are places that provide basic services and should be supported by police force and policy support.

Police Chief Richard Chambers later issued a statement acknowledging that the memorandum was “confusing and useless” and did not meet his expectations for the response to retail crime. He stressed that precisely because retail crime is on the rise, the police will continue to cooperate with the retail industry to identify high-risk areas and repeat crime patterns, and strengthen deterrence by sending police forces and setting up task force.

“If we take crime lightly, we are giving the criminals a green light, this will never happen.” Chambers also said that in Tauranga and Gisborne, police have worked closely with retailers, high-frequency patrols and fast-responsive law enforcement actions have begun to show results.

The police have set up a national retail investigation support team to specifically crack down on organized, repetitive and high-risk retail theft. The department will assist local police forces in identifying habitual criminals and cross-regional crime gangs, and will focus on criminals who threaten the safety of clerks, commit crimes in numerous cases and are significantly harmful. For example, the police have listed Rosey Heurea, a woman who committed crimes many times, as a “national high-risk habitual criminal retail criminal” and disclosed it. However, the police also said that they will not classify the zero-yuan purchase separately, but will need to review their overall criminal record to determine the way they deal with it.

Balkrushna Potdar, a lecturer at the University of Tasmania Business School, believes that despite the attention paid by police data and response strategies, retail crime in New Zealand may still be underestimated. He pointed out that many habitual criminals use more complex methods to evade surveillance and arrest, so the real retail theft rate is much higher than the official conviction number, and people only know the tip of the iceberg.

Potdar classified criminals into several categories, including drug addicts, mentally impaired patients, organized gangs and amateur criminals. He pointed out that substance abuse is one of the most important drivers, and the economic pressure brought by addiction has put some people on the road to theft.

He also mentioned that a series of social factors such as theft habit, the cost of living crisis, economic trauma after the epidemic, poverty, unemployment, peer pressure, etc., may prompt people to go to retail crime. He specifically pointed out that many young people lack value guidance during their growth or are influenced by the “take it and run away” culture advocated by social media, which has led to the “zero yuan purchase” being gradually regarded as innocent or low-risk behavior by some people.

“Zero Yuan Purchase” is not a unique phenomenon in New Zealand. In the United States and the United Kingdom, retailers have experienced frequent gang robberies, violent robberies and organized thefts in the past few years, which has attracted widespread attention from the society. Especially in California, Chicago and other areas, as some policies have listed theft under $950 as misdemeanors, the law enforcement level has relaxed the handling, causing criminal groups to even openly carry out so-called “flash robberies”. Several suspects quickly rushed into the store to grab the goods and fled, forming a terrible demonstration effect. Some large supermarket chains in the UK also reported that verbal and physical threats encountered by employees were rising, and “normalization of theft” has become one of the biggest operating risks in the retail industry.

“Zero Yuan Purchase” is an apparently minor crime, but behind it reflects multiple issues of social governance, economic pressure, law enforcement and cultural value. When gas station employees are forced to tolerate gas expenses escaping, when convenience store owners have to be on duty at night, when theft is no longer a shame but becomes a means of gaining “focus”, New Zealand society urgently needs to face up to this gradual spread of phenomenon.

As Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said in response to this incident: “The police’s duty is to protect the people, not to give in.” If even zero-yuan purchases can be ignored, then when a murder and arson happen, who should the people rely on to save them? Once the law is silent, crime will be carnival. Don’t let society pay the price that it shouldn’t bear for this tolerance!