The ACT Party wants to see harsher penalties for people who commit violent crimes against people while they're working, such as dairy owners and taxi drivers.
If part of the government after the election, it would make the fact a crime occurred against a worker on the job an aggravating factor at sentencing for serious violent crimes.
Leader David Seymour said workers on the frontline were facing "an increasingly violent New Zealand".
"It’s time to take an approach that puts victims first, so New Zealand’s shopkeepers, taxi and bus drivers, security guards, small retailers and other frontline workers can operate without fear.
“The frequency and intensity of retail crime is on the rise. We see shocking images of workers being assaulted in the media every day.
"Dairy owners and other small retailers are now putting themselves inside cages so criminals can’t get behind the counter. There is no place for this kind of senseless violence in New Zealand, the law needs to reflect this."
Seymour said it was time to send a message that crime would be punished, and criminals could not get away with committing "senseless violent acts on people trying to earn a living".
The policy would mean a change the Sentencing Act so judges would have to take into account that a serious violent offence occurred against a worker during their course of work, as an aggravating factor.
If a victim suffered serious violent crime in their workplace or during the course of their work, a judge would be able to hand down a longer sentence, and particular regard could be taken if the worker and or their family was particularly vulnerable, for example if they were working alone, or had an adjoining home.
ACT Party Pakuranga candidate Parmjeet Parmar said there were stronger protections in the law for people in their homes than for people in their workplaces.
“We need to fix this inconsistency. A crime carried out against someone in their place of work can be just as traumatising as a home invasion and the effects just as devastating.
“When businesses decide it is too dangerous to keep their doors open at night, or a taxi driver avoids certain routes, or bus drivers quit because the level of abuse isn’t worth it, everyone is worse off. We need to stop this senseless violence or entire communities will feel the consequences.
“For small businesses, their workplace is like a second home. New Zealanders deserve to feel safe at their place of work, just as they should feel safe in their home.”
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