A Hamilton dairy owner, recovering from a violent robbery, is going to extreme lengths to protect his business, installing a caged entrance.
It's a measure which the Police Minister says shows the need for better protection.
Dairy owner Sandip Patel has three-week-old scars from a machete attack.
"Hamilton is a very nice area, very quiet area. It never happened here, but now there's no one safe in Hamilton," he told 1 NEWS.
Mr Patel says he fought off two teenagers in a frenzied robbery, cigarettes and the entire till taken.
The incident followed a ram raid in November.
“If someone coming with the hoody or bandana or something like that, then I'm not opening that door
"It was really hard, yeah," said Hiral Patel, Sandip's daughter, shaking her head.
So Mr Patel took extraordinary measures installing as cage which allows his dairy workers to assess if people are a threat or not. If you are, you simply won't be allowed in the door.
Shop workers control the gate from the counter.
"If someone coming with the hoody or bandana or something like that, then I'm not opening that door," Mr Patel said.
There were more than 1200 aggravated retail robberies last year. Police say dairies are prime targets, and industry advocates say robberies will continue.
"Dairy owners are employing the security guards or even their family members. They are standing outside the shops. So they are living in fear every moment, every day," said Sonny Kushal of the Crime Prevention Group.
Police Minister Stuart Nash says he has every sympathy for the dairy owner.
"You should not feel unsafe to the point where you've got to put a cage in your dairy that you have to retreat into because you're scared of getting beaten up or robbed."
The Government is offering dairy owners subsidised fog cannons, but admits more needs to be done.
Meanwhile Mr Patel has barely slept since the attack, and hasn't returned to work.
"People shouldn't be at risk just trying to earn bread for themselves every day," daughter Hiral said.
It'll be a long time before Sandip Patel feels safe again.
SHARE ME