Shoplifting is on the rise, not only in Australia but around the world according to published news reports from the UK, UK and plenty of other countries.
Businesses that do not have structured processes in place are more likely to be targeted. Businesses that do not know the cost of this theft until long after it has occurred are likely to be hit the most.
A newsagent I was talking to the other days told me when they caught it as long as they got the items back they punished by banning the shopper from the store.
In my view, the only way to deal with shoplifting, retail theft, is to bring in the police. Every time. No matter the value of the theft.
The more all newsagents in our channel do this the more it is discussed and the less of a target we will be.
Why, and when I say every time, I even mean in the situation where a spouse was found to be the person stealing from the business, to feed a gambling addiction.
There are some good shoplifting prevention / response resources online:
- Crime Stoppers South Australia.
- Victoria Police.
- Tasmania Police.
- Crime Prevention NSW.
- National Retail Association.
There are plenty more resources than these. Doing nothing is a mistake, which will cost businesses and communities plenty.
We report every single theft no matter the value. As an ex cop, I know the importance of a business to earn the reputation of having zero tolerance for theft. If people learn that you will just take the item back if they’re caught then they are more than willing to take the risk of being caught as there will be no consequences and they will tell others about it.
We recently had three shoppies in a fortnight, they all went on FB and the two most important things that came out of it is that people knew we had zero tolerance for theft and they could also see just how clear our cameras are. The local community response and support was pretty amazing too.
Never think you are wasting police time, that is there job.