For two and a half years, the Ajijo Grocery and Convenience Store has been the only store in the Coombs shopping centre – and, the owners say, a target for petty criminals.

Driven to distraction by break-ins, threats, and shoplifting, and by an apparently slow police response, Ajit and Jyotsna Kumar have called on the ACT Government to provide a regular, visible police presence near their grocery, and to make sure there are enough police to respond much faster.

“We are alone here,” Mr Kumar said. “We don’t feel safe because we know that we have been targeted in the past, and it may happen again.

“There is no police presence here at all – people attempting to shoplift know there’s no police around here to stop them.”

“At the moment, they are not afraid,” Mrs Kumar said.

Murrumbidgee MLA Giulia Jones (Canberra Liberals) sponsored the Kumars’ petition in the Legislative Assembly last week, signed by 180 locals.

“The least the government can do is ensure that there is sufficient police protection and assistance for this little business, in an otherwise empty shopping centre trying to serve the community with basic supplies,” Mrs Jones said.

‘Unsocial elements’

The Coombs Community Local Shopping Centre opened in 2018, and the Kumars – the first tenants – opened their store in 2019, not expecting to be the only business. Since then, they said, they have been plagued by ‘unsocial elements’, many on drugs or from nearby public housing.

There have been four or five break-ins; ruffians threatened to vandalise the shop. Mr Kumar said he has been physically threatened several times. A woman smashed the glass doors after she was asked to pay for a bottle of milk, and gangs of teenagers steal chocolates and snacks regularly, Mrs Kumar said.

“It leaves mental scars and fear when we get broken into,” Mr Kumar wrote in his petition. “We always feel under pressure and left-alone [isolated], when we see some unsocial elements near my store, as there is no police presence.”

The nearest police station is in Woden, and the officers’ response has been slow, according to Mr Kumar.

“We rang the police – but there are no police around this area, so they take time to come here,” Mr Kumar said. “They can’t fly here in five or 10 minutes. I’m not counting on them at all, unless they get some presence.”

On one occasion, the Kumars said, they had to wait more than eight hours for police to attend the crime scene when miscreants attacked their premises during the day.

Mr Kumar said he would have expected the police to do more. He lodged three or four formal complaints, but said he had not seen any response, whether in bringing the criminals to court, or visible measures to make the shopkeepers feel safe.

Police response

Police said they received one report of a burglary at the Ajijo Grocery and Convenience Store in January 2020. A small quantity of money, drinks, and confectionery was stolen. The offenders are unidentified due to CCTV footage limitations, an ACT Policing spokesperson said.

The Kumars reported three cases of exterior property damage to police.

In June, a woman was recorded on CCTV pushed a shopping trolley into the front door, breaking the lower glass panel. Police said her identity was unknown.

In April 2020, police were told of a crack in a glass door which occurred in February. Police provided an incident number for insurance purposes.

In July 2019, a motor vehicle damaged the wall next to the store’s front entrance. No CCTV footage was available in relation to this incident. Police do not suspect this was an attempt to enter the premises.

“There is no information to suggest that Coombs shopping area is particularly being targeted,” the ACT Policing spokesperson said. “Unfortunately, property crime is cyclical, and can occur all across Canberra.

“ACT Policing in general, Woden Police station, and the Proactive Intervention and Diversion Team were committed to keeping the Coombs area safe,” they said.

“Police regularly conduct patrols of all suburbs throughout Canberra.”

More police = more peace of mind

More patrols of the area and a police presence near the grocery would deter people attempting to shoplift, Mr Kumar believes.

“We will have some peace of mind; we can work here fully, and we’ll feel safe, knowing that the police are around here to look after us.”

At the moment, the Kumars try to avoid conflict.

“It’s hard,” Mr Kumar said. “We don’t engage in any verbal argument. If we know that people are lifting something, they’re stealing in front of me, we say: ‘OK, don’t do that’. But we don’t go beyond that, because these people who are on drugs or shoplifting … may go a step further and harm us.”

Mrs Kumar said she had warned their employees to stop them only if they could safely, otherwise to let them go. “Our safety is the first priority.”

Locals have tried to help the Kumars. If people loiter outside, for instance, customers will stay until the threatening person has left. Similarly, their petition received 180 signatures in three days.

What more can the government do?

Mr Kumar wants the ACT Government to boost more tenancy in the Coombs shopping centre, so they would not be the only store.

“It’s likely that if I’m alone here, a gang of boys or adults can walk in and do whatever they want to do. But if there are many shops, there will be more people, so it’s unlikely those people will do those activities.”

When the Coombs shops were built, supermarket size was limited to 1,000 sqm – a policy intended to encourage local supermarkets, but only discouraging bigger chains. (Mrs Jones described it as “a complete bungle” on the government’s part.) This year, the government lifted the cap to 1,500 sqm. A bigger supermarket would serve as an anchor tenant, attracting more customers and more shops, Mr Kumar believes.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about getting footfall,” he explained. “Having a supermarket here surely will attract more footfall, and more businesses will come.”

He expects a supermarket to come in a year or two.

The government must deal with public housing issues, too, Mr Kumar thinks. He has no problem with public housing but he believes the government must take extra measures to protect the wider community, and more social support and drug rehabilitation.

Housing units were in some cases poorly designed, Mrs Jones thought, while putting too many tenants together created a ghetto.

Other local residents have complained of people entering their backyard, or stealing from their letterbox.

“Obviously, more police presence will also help other people,” Mr Kumar said.