Corner Dairy worker Janak Patel was attacked and stabbed in the street near the Rose Cottage superette in Auckland’s Sandringham on November 23 and later died.

Sir Ray Avery, centre, with Sandringham police and local businesses

The three men charged with the fatal stabbing have pleaded not guilty and the case will go to trial in May 2024.

The Sandringham community has considered ways to protect local small retailers from violent robberies.

Jithin Chittibomma, chair of the Sandringham Business Association, has met Sandringham police , local businesses ,Auckland council and companies with expertise in crime prevention, to brainstorm ways to protect local businesses from violent crimes.

Community supporter Sir Ray Avery attended the hui and said many dairy owners are lone workers and are frightened of going to work every day, many pulling 10-hour days.

“We mostly don’t notice them as we rush in to buy that little something that we forgot at the supermarket but they are the arterial lifeblood of our community.

“So, charitable trust Help@Hand has donated 30 personal emergency response watches to Sandringham dairy owners who have been subject to a violent robbery so they can feel safe going to work. We know police resources are limited but they maybe ways we can help them.

“The Jupl watches have been a great success in protecting victims of domestic violence and giving them a sense of security in the event they are subjected to a violent attack.

“Help is literally a few minutes away at the press of a silent alarm which sends a priority alert to the police.”

Jupl chief executive Alan Brannigan demonstrated the Jupl watch functions at the Sandringham workshop and a team from FoggYou demonstrated an affordable smoke cannon which may be installed by the dairy owner.

Chittibomma says the new technologies are important tools for protecting local dairy owners but we also need the support of government funding for more police presence in our community.

“Currently Sandringham only has three police cars in our area and that makes us vulnerable to the increasing rates of ram raids and violent robberies in our community.”

In Australia, Jupl personal alarm smart watches can connect directly with the closest police car where the alarm is being activated saving vital minutes and allowing the police to arrest offenders and prevent them from further offending.

The Jupl team say they are hopeful that they may collaborate with the Sandringham police to improve on the current average response time of three minutes.

Chittibomma says it has been so useful for Jupl and Foggyou to reach out support the community by donating 30 smartwatches and 8 Foggyou cannons for the Sandringham business community.

“These steps will help slow down the rate of retail crime while we collectively confront the real reasons for this increase in serious crime nationwide,” he says.

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