Business owners are being forced to take matters into their own hands as the level of retail crime continues to soar.

Latest figures show there's been a 39-percent surge in retail crime since last year, with much higher rises in Canterbury and South Auckland.

Newmarket Business Association Chief Executive Mark Knoff-Thomas told Kate Hawkesby that they're particularly concerned by the level of juvenile crime and are calling for more police.

He says there are some stores trading with their doors locked and only letting customers in one-by-one due to the scale of crime.

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