The last three weeks have seen a spate of attacks in Sydney and Melbourne against newsagents. A newsagent in Cabramatta was killed in tragic circumstances three weeks ago (SMH report); several newsagents in Sydney were robbed last week (NSW police report) and this week newsagents have been robbed in Melbourne this week.
Newsagents are soft targets. We’re open long hours; carry reasonable amounts of cash; are family businesses – therefore less sophisticated in prevention; and have small shops which enable easy entry and exit.
This spate of attacks has woken the channel and taking preventative action is a topic of much discussion among newsagents. The industry is also rallying around the newsagents directly affected as only the independent small business channel can.