Police chief Grant Stevens backtracks on crime stats claim as city traders explain how they deal with thieves and vandals

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens has clarified his claim that overall city crime rates are falling as shop owners reveal the lengths they go to to stop criminals themselves.

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens has acknowledged that overall levels of crime in the Adelaide CBD have increased over the past 12 years.

Amid a surge in serious violence and property crime in the CBD, Police Commissioner Grant Stevens has clarified his public claim that overall city crime rates were falling.

Mr Stevens said on ABC Radio on Thursday morning that official SAPOL data, reported exclusively in The Advertiser this week, “shows a decrease from 2011 to 2022 in the reported crime against all categories in the Adelaide area”.

Last night, Mr Stevens confirmed that between 2011 and 2022 there had actually been an overall increase.

The data shows in 2011 there were in total 7672 crimes in all categories in the CBD and North Adelaide, and in 2022 there were 8482 – an increase of 810, or 10.5 per cent.

“Acknowledging there has been an overall increase in reported crime from 2011 to 2022, the focus of the Advertiser article was in reference to assaults against the person in the CBD,” he said in a written statement.

“The individual offences included in the table show a number of categories of crime have decreased, this is what I was referring to.”

Mr Stevens also acknowledged the effects on CBD traders when citing the latest crime statistics.

The owner of this King William St store says he won't replace his doors broken by thieves any more because of the cost. Picture: Mile Kemp

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens outside the Hindley St Police Station when it opened last year. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Tricia Watkinson

“Significantly attributable to the overall total increase in statistics is a sharp increase in shop theft reported in this period (2011-22) from 870 to 1643, which reveals close to doubling of reported thefts,” he said.

“Over time, increases in technology in shops including CCTV and product/garment electronic tagging and a willingness to report offences have significantly contributed to this data increase.”

The Advertiser’s initial report highlighted several categories – including serious assault resulting in injury, thefts from shops and motor vehicles, illegal use of motor vehicles and property damage – where the rate of offending in 2022 was at a 12-year high.

The increase backs the ­experience of most traders who on Thursday revealed their battles with criminals to The Advertiser.

Mr Stevens had revealed that the least urgent crime or “category 5” did not warrant police attendance, raising the ire of city workers and business owners.

Metro Convenience store worker MD Mehedi Hasan said police needed to do more, and the store was often the target of a gang of hooded youths in sunglasses.

He said staff were afraid, and the only way to stop them was to lock the doors when they were seen approaching.

“Sometimes they (police) help when we call emergency but sometimes they are a bit late and we lose all the stuff,’’ he said.

“They (youths) often try to get violent and they try to hit us but we don’t engage.”

At another convenience store on King William St, the owner has given up on replacing a door that was smashed on Tuesday this week because it costs $600 each time.

One worker at the store, Deacon Catlin, said police responded to the worst incidents in about 20 minutes.

His strategy when a customer stole from the store was to take the law into his own hands, lock the door so they could not leave and demand the items back.

“The broken door on Tuesday was when we did this and some time later he came back and kicked the door out of frustration,’’ Mr Catlin said.

Marta Rob, owner of On The Way convenience store in the city, says she and her customers are regularly targeted with anti-social behaviour. Picture: Brett Hartwig

Florist worker Bridget Sheehan said she had a different plan, which was usually enacted when homeless people started arguing outside her store in Topham Mall. “I like to go out, lock the door and go for a bit of a walk until it goes away,’’ she said.

Next door, newsagent Jimmy Tran said police did not do enough and usually took about 30 minutes to attend.

“There are always problems here with people stealing stuff,’’ he said.

“We always call the police but by the time they get here the thieves have gone.”

Ulysses Mitropoulos said he was assaulted two months ago at a city petrol station, and police took 30 minutes to ­arrive.

“They are not pursuing it and just want to file the photograph of my injuries,’’ he said.