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Retail Crime
Did you know that retail crime, such as shoplifting, robbery and vandalism, costs Australian businesses up to $9 billion each year?
Retail crime costs us all. Every single incident erodes profitability for businesses, increases the cost of goods to consumers, endangers frontline staff while also wasting their time, and ultimately reduces the appeal of our retail precincts to customers.
Considering the impact of retail crime, it’s astonishing to know that an estimated less than 20% of retail crimes are reported to police.
The National Retail Association is helping retailers stay informed and involved through research, meetings and projects. One such project is our Safer Retail Precincts which aims to help create vibrant retail precincts through shared intelligence, collaboration and vigilance.
The National Retail Association also coordinates Retail Crime Committees with two meetings conducted per year in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia.
SAFECITY NETWORK SHOPLIFTING ARMED ROBBERY BREAK-INS ORGANISED CRIME and GANGS FRAUD INTERNAL THEFT SECURITY SYSTEMS and GUARDS
Survey Information: Retail Theft – Verbal and Physical Aggression Survey 2018 (PDF)
Current Retail Crime Statistics
Each State and Territory Police report retail crime and shoplifting under different names and use different data variables, such as offences occurring yearly vs. monthly. This makes it is difficult to track retail crime trends on a national level. This document collates State and Territory Police crime statistics to chart shoplifting trends.
The National Retail Association will update this information as it becomes available.
State/Territory Online Crime Reporting
Not all state and territory police offer direct online crime reporting. In the absence of an online portal, police recommend reporting via Crime Stoppers.
Australian Capital Territory Crime Stoppers >
Northern Territory Crime Stoppers >
Retail Crime Committees
The National Retail Association’s state-based Retail Crime Committees bring together law enforcement, retailers and specialists to discuss the challenges of retail crime, loss prevention and increasing safety for customers and employees.
The Committees aim to give loss specialists and managers in retail organisations the opportunity to:
- Collaborate and learn from peers in the retail industry and thought leaders on current issues and potential solutions.
- Engage in dialogue to provide thoughts to generate discussions between the retail sector, law enforcement and government regulators about the issues concerning each business and help shape the change or development of retail policy.
- Keep up to date with changes, trends and ideas in the innovation and technology space and trial new initiatives.
- Network and develop relationships with other professionals and specialists.
- Engage in ongoing dialogue with peers and specialists via the National Retail Association’s private Retail Crime Committee Linkedin Group.
Contact our team
David Stout
Director Policy
National Retail Association
David is a highly-respected senior executive across a wide range of retail sectors including corporate affairs, operations, customer insights, finance, procurement, risk and regulation, stakeholder engagement, community and supply chain. He is favourably regarded as a bipartisan and ethical operative in best practice across retail and corporate industry, regional and urban councils, local and state governments, and is currently involved in multiple advisory groups / committees.
Ebony Johnson
Project Manager, Policy
National Retail Association
As Project Manager in the Policy team, Ebony brings a strong background across the retail, textile, and hospitality sectors in project management, stakeholder relations, marketing and communications. Ebony provides project management expertise to multiple projects, including sustainability, product safety, retail crime and committees.
Lily Charlton
Senior Policy Officer
National Retail Association
Lily Charlton is an experienced policy officer who provides a high level of professionalism and organisation. Lily’s remit oversees the delivery of policy submissions to government, industry committees, industrial commission trading hour applications and supporting government relations. Lily ensures the policy team consistently meets or exceeds key deliverables on a range of NRA projects across sustainability, retail crime, product safety and trading hours.