29,000 retail thefts just tip of the iceberg: Retail NZ

Thursday, 5 July 2018

Greg Harford, Retail NZ's general manager public affairs, talks to Radio Tarana's Sanjesh Narain.

Close to 29,000 retail thefts were reported to police in the past year, but Retail New Zealand says that statistic is just the tip of the iceberg.

'Many low-level thefts are not reported to police,' said Greg Harford, Retail NZ's general manager public affairs.

'There were 28,817 theft reports to police in the last year, but we think that's the tip of the iceberg,' Harford told Radio Tarana.

Two people were stabbed at Hylite Dairy in Auckland's Grey Lynn last month.

'But we're encouraging retailers to make sure they report all issues to police so that police know how big the problem is and can focus on it.'

* Two people hospitalised, one critical, after stabbing at Grey Lynn dairy**

Harford was responding to reports of increases in violent crime following the robbery at Hylite Dairy in Auckland where a mother and son were stabbed in the altercation just three weeks ago.

'Crime is a huge issue and is endemic across the sector, it is costing retailers around $1.1 billion a year in losses.

'The biggest worry is that it has become increasingly violent and aggressive,' Harford said.

'People going from store to store, stealing to order, high value items are obviously a target, especially things like cigarettes and alcohol, and criminals are increasingly acting with impunity, acting in a violent way towards retail staff.'

Harford said it was important that retailers took all practical steps to keep themselves and their staff safe, and their stock secure - like having good visibility and lighting in store, alarms and panic buttons if necessary, and security cameras.

'Our message to government is that retail crime is a huge issue that needs action.

'First, there needs to be an infringement notice issued for low-level petty thefts,' Harford said.

'That will help ensure that there are real consequences for retail crime and break a cycle of crime, so that people don't start off with low-level petty theft and move into more violent and serious activity.

'We're also calling for a social change programme to be rolled out across the whole of government to encourage respect for the law and people's property rights.'