Boulders to protect against ram-raids
1 April 2019
Two large boulders will be placed in front of a store in Cambridge this week to deter further ram-raids.
On Wednesday, Waipa District Council will place boulders in the existing garden outside Stirling Sports as a deterrent after the store was ram-raided again just over a week ago.
In the meantime, Council will press ahead with plans to install CCTV cameras in both Te Awamutu and Cambridge.
Waipā mayor Jim Mylchreest said the boulders were a practical response to help out the tenant and owner until the store owner decided what to do. While the store had installed some protection measures after earlier ram-raids, it was not enough to prevent damage or entry.
He was pleased that police, who now have a stronger presence in Cambridge, were on the scene almost immediately.
I appreciate that people want Council to put bollards on that site, and I absolutely understand that response and have huge sympathy for the store owner and tenant, Mylchreest said. But the reality is that bollards used elsewhere on Victoria St are not designed to withstand ram-raids; that's not their purpose and in fact for safety reasons they are designed to collapse upon impact.
Some store owners in Cambridge had already installed their own specialised security measures to protect against ram-raids which they funded themselves. Council could not pay for private security measures for one store but not others, Mylchreest said.
But let's at least put big boulders in the way and work with the community, police and the Chamber of Commerce to find a better, long-term solution.
The boulders will be moved early on Wednesday morning to minimise traffic disruption.