A small beach community near Tauranga is 'on edge” about increasing crime after two dairies have been broken into five times in the last three months.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, the Ōmokoroa Beach Store was ransacked by what the owner called 'a gang of teenagers”.

It is the second time this dairy has been broken into - it had already been robbed just three weeks earlier.

Just up the road, Ōmokoroa Minimart and Takeaways has been broken into three times in the last three months.

Only a few weeks ago, this store was ramraided when a group of youths drove their car into the glass front of the shop even though it had been fortified with a metal bar after the property was broken into twice in February.

Ōmokoroa Beach Store owner Inderjit Singh says thieves smashed into the store around 3.30am on Saturday by breaking the glass front.

They then forced open the cabinet where the cigarettes and tobacco were kept, and emptied it before fleeing.

The perpetrators were captured on CCTV cameras and the video handed over to police, he says.

'They are all in hoods and masks, so you cannot see their faces, but they all look under 18.”

The store was last broken into on April 13. Singh's partner, Gurveen Kaur, says that the couple believe it is the same youths targeting the store.

'Last time there were two of them, and this time there were three. On the video I noticed the container they emptied the cigarettes in was the same. The first time they did not take all the cigarettes, but this time it looks like they brought another person with them to help because they managed to empty the whole cupboard.

Thieves stole all the cigarettes and tobacco at Ōmokoroa Beach Store this weekend. Photo: Supplied/Stuff.

The couple have owned the store for five years and are concerned about the increase in thefts in the area.

'It seems to be young people. They just go for the cigarettes, nothing else, so I think they sell them. I don't know what is causing this. It is a worry as the other dairy in the area has been broken into three times.”

Saedanwar Rajput still has repairs to do after his shop, Ōmokoroa Minimart and Takeaways, was ramraided last month making it the third time the store has been broken into.

After the robberies in February, Rajput had a metal bar installed across the front door, but the thieves used a stolen car to bust it open.

”They were young people and have not been caught. I'm disappointed that the police have not done more.”

Rajput says he's now talking to the council about getting bollards installed to prevent further ram raids.

Ōmokoroa Taxis owner RJ Kumar used to own this mini mart and says he did not have break-ins, which he attributes to not selling cigarettes.

'I didn't sell them because I know they are targetted by thieves. If they get away with a cabinet it's up to $15,000, and they are easy for them to sell on.”

Kumar is part of the local Ōmokoroa community patrol.

The patrol currently stops at 9pm, but the group is now considering if it can operate 24 hours.

'It will be hard as some volunteers are elderly. What we really need is police positioned here or at least police patrolling the area. It's not just the shops, there have been houses burgled too.”

The Ōmokoroa community is brainstorming what they can do, says resident Michael Hall.

'Hearing about all these break-ins recently is genuinely heartbreaking. These guys do not deserve what has been coming their way. Since nothing seems to be happening to prevent these occurrences, I think we should come together as a community and take some action.”

Some practical suggestions included crowdfunding private security, or getting bollards and metal roller doors installed at the shops.

Many are calling for more police support.

Ōmokoroa resident Richard Hale says the government needs to step in with tougher penalties for youths,

'There needs to be much harsher punishment, because as it is now, they do it as they just get away with it.”

Hale also thinks dairy owners could stop selling cigarettes,

'No one is going to ram raid for a chocolate bar. Thieves are attracted to the smokes because as $30 or $40 a pack they can make good profit by reselling them.”

Metal rollers on shops would be a last resort he says.

'It would be awful if we had to have that. But bollards would stop ram raiders, and you can get a special security film on glass to stop them smashing the front.”

The young thieves do not care about the impact on the community, he says.

'Everyone is on edge. The dairy owners might just give up and leave, and then we are without these important facilities, so it is great people are coming together to think of solutions.”

Some locals are suggesting even more drastic measures such as a fog canon, setting up patrols or even laying spikes.

The government has announced $562m will be spent on police over the next four years – promising to keep a ratio of one cop for every 480 people.

Chris Dever, a local wedding celebrant, is sceptical about the announcement.

”Ōmokoroa has more than 6000 residents. So are they going to give us ten police, when they can't even give us one?”

Dever says the current problems with increasing crime and ram raids is just as bad in smaller communities as Auckland.

”Auckland is getting all the attention, but we are suffering too with the increasing thefts.”

Tommy Kapai, who runs Bay of Plenty social agency Te Tuinga Whanau which works with youth offenders, believes that tougher penalties are not the answer.

”Throwing youth offenders straight into early jail without intervention perpetuates the problem, and the community inherits more gang members and families are broken. My hope is the new money gets to the front line, so there are better outcomes for the community and the children and families affected by gangs and ram raiders."

Annemarie Quill/Stuff