After last week’s fatal stabbing at an Auckland dairy, a business association has announced free wearable emergency watches for dairy owners in the area.

Sandringham Business Association chair Jithin Chttibomma announced today they had enlisted the help of Sir Ray Avery to supply dairy owners who had been victims of violent robberies in the area with free wearable personal emergency watches.

These can send silent alarms directly to the police if the person was under attack or threatened with violence.

Sandringham Business Association chairman Jithin Chittibomma doesn't want to see any more businesses suffer at the hands of criminals. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

It comes a week after dairy worker Janak Patel, 34, was fatally stabbed during an alleged robbery at the Rose Cottage Superette.

Police were called to the store at the intersection of Haverstock Rd and Fowlds Ave at 8.05 pm after an offender entered the shop armed with a knife and took the cash register.

Police said the victim was stabbed several times 100m from the store after he confronted the thief.

The man, who was newly married and in his mid-30s, managed to make it back to the dairy, where emergency services were called, but died from his injuries.

Two hundred people gathered outside the dairy, laying floral arrangements, as a police cordon blocked the street.

• Slain shop worker was newly married; manhunt for killer amid 'sense of lawlessness'
• Explained: Why the Sandringham dairy where a man was killed didn’t qualify for a fog cannon

Local members of the Sandringham community turned out to pay their respects at a Saturday night vigil for slain Rose Cottage Superette dairy worker Janek Patel. Photo / George Block

Chttibomma said the association had promised its members immediate action.

“While we cautiously commend the Government’s recent funding and support announcements, these devices will provide another level in a layer of security measures we are hoping to undertake. We need to act now.

“It’s important to understand what we are trying to achieve with respect to protecting our frontline retail staff who are often working late at night alone and unprotected.

“The Jupl silent alarm gets the police on site in minutes and if we can catch these guys then they won’t go on to rob the next shop.”

Avery said the wearable personal emergency response watches supplied by Jupl had been battle-tested in Australia and New Zealand and had been proven to protect wearers from personal assaults.

“Just a touch of an alarm button can send a call directly to the police and our typical response time is three minutes for the police to arrive.

“This technology has been a huge success in keeping victims of family violence safe from harm and frontline family violence counsellors feel safe going into potentially harmful situations.”

The personal wearable watches had been used by staff from Papakura Marae when they went for Family Harm callouts.

Dee Clark said she felt safe and secure with a wearable safety device when she went into the community supporting family violence victims.

“I think this is one of the key benefits of the Jupl watch that wearers feel safe wearing the watch. When they press the button they know the police are on their way and that our call centre and the police can hear what is happening to them in real-time.

“The watch is basically a phone on your wrist, recording what is happening so the police know what to expect when they arrive.”

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern addressing media after meeting with the Sandringham community.

This week Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced $4 million would be split between local councils in Auckland ($2m), Hamilton ($1m) and Bay of Plenty ($1m) to match council funding for local crime prevention measures such as street lighting, CCTV cameras and bollard-esque planter boxes.

The Government would also subsidise the purchase and installation of fog cannons to the tune of $4000 for any shop owner who felt vulnerable - regardless of whether they had been previous victims of crime - something which had limited the application of crime prevention methods in the past.

The $6m Retail Crime Prevention fund - designed to support businesses hit by ram raids - would be expanded to include those who had experienced aggravated robberies.

While retail sector leaders are welcoming further investment, they are disappointed the package did not include legislative changes demanded by dairy owners who closed their doors yesterday nationwide to protest against the Government’s perceived inaction on crime.

“It’s just dealing with the symptoms of the problem rather than the underlying cause,” Retail NZ chief executive Greg Harford said of the new package.

“Announcements are great but everything takes time and people are dying today,” Sandringham Business Association chairman Jithin Chittibomma said.

“What can we do today to put some brakes on this?”