Crime rising across Kavel electorate, SA Liberals say, with shoplifting ‘exploding’

Statistics show crime is rising across an Adelaide Hills electorate, the Liberals say, with shoplifting “exploding”. And it’s hurting small businesses.

Crime is rising across an Adelaide Hills electorate, the state Opposition says, with the owner of one Mount Barker boutique clothing store watching thieves walk off wearing stolen clothes.

Data SA statistics compiled by the SA Liberals show an increase in crime across Police Minister Dan Cregan’s Kavel electorate between February and June this year, since he was appointed.

Opposition police spokesman Jack Batty said shoplifting in particular had “exploded”, but Mr Cregan said crime was down on long-term averages.

Latest SAPOL figures released on Thursday show a 9 per cent rise in shoplifiting this month.

The co-owner of Cloth and Bale Country Boutique in Gawler St, Tegan Foster took to social media three weeks ago to plead with shoplifters to give her store a break.

“It’s definitely risen this year – it’s something we’ve seen in the store,” said Ms Foster, who runs the shop with her sister Jessie said.

“It’s smaller items that are targeted, so they are easier to hide in bags – hair clips, beanies, things like that.”

Ms Foster, who works in emergency services and runs the clothing and accessories store with her sister Jessie as a second job, said the rise started earlier in the year and has slowly continued.

Sisters Tegan and Jessie Foster run Cloth and Bale Country Boutique, a clothing and accessories store in Mount Barker and say there is a rise in shoplifting. Picture: Supplied

She said it could be partly attributed to the cost-of-living crisis but because Cloth and Bale sells giftwares and homewares, believed it was also opportunistic theft.

“I feel like people wander in, see something, and take it, but I don’t know if it’s because they can’t afford it.”

She said people would remove tags before bagging them and had even worn clothing items out the door, making it difficult to know whether to challenge them.

Cloth and Bale Country Boutique, a clothing and accessories store in Mount Barker. Picture: Supplied

“Once someone left wearing a beanie that we sell, and we didn’t know if he was wearing it when he came in or not – maybe he’d bought it last time? So you don’t want to confront someone if you don’t know for sure if they’re stealing. We want people to come back and support our small business.”

Her store is also often staffed by employees, and she doesn’t want to put them at risk.

“I don’t want to confront someone and then it turn nasty,” she said.

Opposition police spokesman Jack Batty said the statistics revealed crime had risen across Mr Cregan’s electorate in the first two months of his appointment as Police Minister on April 15 when compared with the previous two months.

The statistics show shoplifting across Kavel had “exploded”, Mr Batty said, rising from 11 reported instances between February 15 and April 14, to 32 by June 14.

Overall theft, which includes car theft and theft from a car, rose from 47 to 91.

Serious criminal trespass rose from 11 to 25, or 127 per cent.

Fraud and deception-related offences rose 66.7 per cent, while acts to cause injury increased 12.1 per cent.

In total across numerous injury, fraud, theft and trespass categories, crime rose by 50.7 per cent.

“We know that SAPOL is under-resourced – with a shortfall of nearly 200 police officers and large numbers of police leaving the force,” Mr Batty said.

“The Minister needs to take urgent action to ensure we’ve got enough frontline officers keeping South Australians safe in Mount Barker and beyond.”

Mr Cregan said the state government remained “closely focused on community safety” and long-term averages showed a “modest decrease” in larger towns.

“While any increase in crime is concerning, long-term averages over the past decade – adjusting for years affected by COVID – show a modest decrease in Mount Barker, Nairne and Littlehampton despite massive population growth,” Mr Cregan said.

“SAPOL continues to target shoplifting and trespass amid significantly expanded recruitment campaigns to boost frontline numbers across the state.

“The 2024-25 state budget also includes $36.7m to free up more than 100 police officers and staff for operational duties.”

Statewide crime statistics for July show a 9 per cent rise in shoplifting with increase of 1526 offences, but SAPOL said it was actually the fifth successive decrease shown over the rolling-year period.

SAPOL urged anyone who experienced shoplifting, anti-social or violent behaviour report it immediately on the 131 444 police line or to triple-0 in an emergency.

Originally published as Crime rising across Kavel electorate, SA Liberals say, with shoplifting ‘exploding’