NewsLocal, Daily Telegraph journalist Hannah Farrow caught up in bottle shop theft at Dickson Village, Canberra

Masked, hooded and unpredictable. This is the moment Canberra’s youth crime crisis unfolded in front of this Daily Telegraph reporter’s eyes by way of a brazen bottle-o theft. See the shocking footage.

This is the moment Canberra’s youth crime crisis unfolded in front of this reporter’s very own eyes.

At Dickson Village shopping centre on Wednesday night in the capital’s inner-north, a teen in a black hood and mask stands in the doorway of the Liquorland.

He’s clutching at a black handle in his pocket and it looks like a knife.

Then an offsider, also hooded and masked, storms the store and grabs a bounty of booze including Jim Beam, and proceeds to bolt. The bottle shop worker just stands there – utterly bewildered.

This brazen crime, captured in its entirety by this reporter, is not a stand-alone incident.

It is an everyday occurrence at the shopping centre, and locals and shop owners are not only fed up – they’re fearing for their lives.

Brazen bottle shop robbery at Dickson Village Shops, Canberra caught on video. Picture: Hannah Farrow.

The tiny mall, which has upwards of eight stores including the Liquorland, chemist, Coles supermarket and a hairdresser, is a haven for teen criminals, operators say.

As groups of young offenders “repeatedly raid” the Liquorland, customers, employees and the general public are becoming increasingly fearful about the spike in youth crime.

Employees across other bottle shops in Dickson say the same groups of teenagers return daily to steal alcohol, often in co-ordinated and considered attacks.

Despite repeat incidents, staff have been told they are unable to intervene.

Staff across the stores say there is a consistent trend of patterns in the types of alcohol stolen, with premium spirits such as Grey Goose, Belvedere Vodka and Malibu among the most frequently targeted.

“There’s one group, two girls and three boys. One of the girls comes in and takes two bottles of Malibu every time” a Dickson Liquorland employee revealed.

“They steal a lot of stuff and steal more than we can restock. They take their time choosing which bottles they want,” the employee said.

“This happens all the time. Every day. We restock more than we sell. They stole $2,900 worth of product in one day. That day we made a profit of $2,500 so we made less than what was actually stolen.”

The teen clutches at a black handle, possibly a blade. Picture: Hannah Farrow.

Despite security measures in place, the offenders have become increasingly fearless.

Another worker at Liquorland described an experience where a thief was apprehended by another customer and they shattered a bottle of Grey Goose in the process.

“I was shaking. My heart was racing. I felt anxious and had no idea what to do,” the worker said.

“They just don’t care. They know we can’t physically stop them. I feel so depressed when I see it happen because I can’ do anything about them taking the spirits. I don’t want to put myself in danger, you don’t know what state of mind these people are in.”

An ex-Dan Murphys Dickson manager, who wished not to be named, said: “I just feel disappointed, you wonder what kind of life they lead at home.”

Another Dan Murphys employee said the store was a “high risk” and they had experienced occasions of “swarming”.

“Swarming” is the term used to describe where a group of underage individuals flock to a store and overwhelm staff. It has become such a widespread problem that Dan Murphys now rolls the term out in its staff training videos.

The pair make their escape outside. Picture: Supplied.

In regards to the brazen Liquorland theft caught on video, the worker said shockingly “they come here everyday”.

A shopper at Dickson Village, Emily, 25, said “I wouldn’t come to Dickson village at night”. “You just don’t know if you’ll find yourself in the centre of,” she said.

ACT police generic. Picture: Supplied

Dickson Resident Group Committee Member and Town Planner Jane Goffam said the incidents were concerning.

“This is really concerning. We have an unusually high concentration of liquor outlets and safety is our number one issue.”

ACT Police say they were aware of a group of repeat youth offenders targeting the bottle shops.

“In some instances, threats of violence are made against staff, however in most cases, a group of young people enter the store all at once with the aim of overwhelming staff to quickly steal alcohol,” a spokesman said.

“Some offenders may distract staff while their co-offenders steal the items.

“For staff, police do not recommend engaging with offenders. No item is worth an injury or worse.

“ACT Policing’s Proactive Intervention and Diversion team is working to identify repeat offenders and put them before court.”

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