A Bay of Plenty retailer whose stores have been the target of violent robberies eight times in the last two years feels let down by the justice system, and wants thieves to be held accountable, regardless of age.

"They are scum. They need to pay reparation. I don't care if they are young, or how long it takes,” says Rod Pearce, who owns two jewellers in Te Puke and Rotorua.

'When I was 13 I had a job and learned how hard you work for it. They think they can use violence to take it. They need to know the real value of a dollar and understand what they are doing to people.”

The latest heist was at his Te Puke shop on June 28 at 3.30am when four people smashed the glass front of the store with hammers, and proceeded to bash the jewellery cabinets to grab what was inside.

'The damage to the front window alone is more than $8000,”

Calculating the accumulative financial losses of eight robberies is something that Pearce avoids so he can stay strong.

”It's a mental game. We got to the stage where we couldn't take any more, but we don't want to give up. We cope by not lingering on what has happened.”

Since the robberies, additional security has been added, with Pearce accessing a government scheme to help fund fog canons, bollards and protective shields.

'They are still at it, and getting more violent. They would use those hammers on people – I don't doubt it.”

The thieves are brazen, he said. After his Rotorua store was burgled, the next morning a man was spotted selling the stolen jewellery, still with tags on, out of a bag across the road.

'The police have been brilliant, fantastic, and they have done a great job in catching many of them, and also recovering some of the stolen items. But where we feel let down is what happens afterwards, or what doesn't happen afterwards, in the justice system.”

Locking young offenders up in institutions isn't the answer he believes.

'Beating them with a stick won't get them to stop. There are no easy answers, but I think forcing them to repay would be a good solution, and also a way to turn them on the right path – getting former gang members or criminals who have been in the prison system and know how awful it is, to deal with them. Those people in the community need to come forward and help – because the young people would fear and respect what they say.”

Jewellery stores have been the target of a spate of violent smash and grabs across Aotearoa in the past year, forcing the Michael Hill chain to add security guards to its North Island stores, following a series of raids in the Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Wellington, New Plymouth and, more recently, in Auckland.

Michael Hill's Bayfair store in Mt Maunganui has been raided twice this year, the first time in broad daylight in front of shoppers.

Under The Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989, criminal proceedings should not be against a child or young person if there is an alternative means of dealing with the matter – unless the public interest requires otherwise.

The National Party has pledged to bring back military-style boot camps for young offenders if elected, a move that has been heavily criticised by those with experience in the youth justice system.

-Annemarie Quill/Stuff.