There has been a 66 per cent surge in retail crime across Australia involving weapons last year, alongside a large spike in violent and threatening events.
New data from Australian retailers using retail crime reporting software Auror also showed that events involving knives and blades were up by more than 40 per cent in 2024, compared to the previous year.
Nationally, retailers recorded a 30 per cent increase in violent or serious events, as well as a 39 per cent increase in threatening events last year. Victorian retailers recorded the largest jump in both violent and threatening retail crime events, up 38 per cent and 52 per cent, respectively.
Auror senior director of trust and safety Nick McDonnell said the data shows that retail crime is becoming more brazen, more violent and more organised.
“What’s confronting is, about one in four retail crime events last year involved some form of violence, intimidation, threats, physical or verbal abuse,” McDonnell said.
“Police do an incredible job keeping us all safe and there is no substitute for the hands-on work they do in our community, but crime in retail is such a high-volume crime type that it’s impossible to address it all.
“However, focusing on repeat offenders causing the majority of the high-volume, high-harm offences is critical – and you can only do that if you have visibility to the total problem.”
Organised retail crime networks and prolific offenders continue to cause the most harm, as data shows 10 per cent of offenders last year were responsible for over 60 per cent of the total harm and loss.
Peak bodies, the National Retail Association (NRA) and the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) are jointly calling on policymakers to prioritise violent retail crime as a matter of urgency. NRA interim CEO Lindsay Carroll said this needs to come across all levels of government.
“Governments need to give retailers and police the right tools, whether that be funding, policy changes or even just political leadership, to effectively address this growing trend of violence in retail, and so repeat offenders can be identified and brought to justice,” Carroll said.
“Criminals have become bolder, and our system needs to keep up; this includes leaning into technology-based solutions that can deal with this challenge at scale.”
ARA chief industry affairs officer Fleur Brown said alongside more tech-based solutions and funding for security measures, Australian retailers need ongoing support in the form of tougher penalties for offenders across every state and territory.
“Retail crime has a profound and lasting impact on frontline retail staff and in some instances, customers. Everyone has a right to feel safe while at work or shopping,” Brown said.
“Unfortunately, we’re continuing to see an increase in retail crime and aggressive behaviour across the country, particularly in Victoria; and we remain focused on the need for the government to implement proven measures that improve the safety of retail workers.”
Alongside knives and blades, other key weapons used include hammers, boxcutters, scissors, firearms and needles.