Victorian retail crime worst in the country as supermarkets beef up security

Australia’s peak retail body is “deeply concerned” about the surging crime rate on Victorian retailers, with major supermarkets labelling the state as the worst in the country.

Australia’s peak retail body is “deeply concerned” about the surging crime rate on Victorian retailers, with major supermarkets labelling the state as the worst in the country.

A day after Victoria Police released damning crime figures – including nearly 40,000 thefts from stores – retailers say “enough is enough”, calling on the state and federal government to toughen penalties on offenders.

In a statement to the Herald Sun, Australian Retail Association chief industry affairs officer Fleur Brown said Victoria was now a “hotspot” for retail crime.

It comes after the Christian Dior store on Collins St was targeted by thieves for the second time in 15 days during a dramatic ram raid early on Friday.

“It is very distressing for retail stores to have anything happen like the ram raid, but to have it happen repeatedly is a really traumatic event for those store teams,” Ms Brown said.

Victoria has seen a 52 per cent rise in threatening crime and 38 per cent jump in violent crimes towards retailers according to data released by retail crime reporting software Auror. Knives, blades, hammers, scissors and box cutters have become the weapons of choice for these criminals, with incidents involving weapons nationwide up 66 per cent from last year.

“We are deeply concerned about the intensity of these numbers and the increase that we are seeing in retail crime,” Ms Brown said.

“We would like to see a response in Victoria with strengthened legislation. We do need to take this problem seriously.”

Coles has beefed up its security in response to a rise in retail crime.

While retail crime rates are reported to be rising across the country, Victoria has been highlighted as worst in terms of volume and seriousness.

Coles said Victorian supermarkets had endured the highest increase in retail crime incidents, tallying nearly half of all security guard hours at the company.

A Coles spokesman said staff also had to deal with an increase in incidents of poor behaviour directed at members.

“While most of our customers do the right thing, unfortunately a small number don’t,” the spokesman said.

“Despite record levels of investment in technology, security guards and safety training, our team continues to experience unacceptable levels of abuse and threatening behaviours – particularly in Victoria.”

Victoria is now a hot spot for retail crime.

In an effort to address increased crime, Coles has rolled out a range of loss prevention technologies. That technology includes Smart Gates – automatic gates that open after customers pay – and Skip Scan – AI detection used to track mis-scanned items.

Coles is not alone in its frustration.

Master Grocers Australia CEO David Inall, who represents independents IGA and FoodWorks, said Victoria had become a “consequence-free environment”.

“Enough is enough, our members have had a gutful of the ever-increasing incidence of theft, violence and anti-­social behaviour generally,” Mr Inall said.

Originally published as Victorian retail crime worst in the country as supermarkets beef up security