Wangaratta police cracking down on shoplifting surge

Wangaratta police are cracking down on retail crime within the rural city following a steep rise in reported offences in recent months. Operation Imperium, which has begun in recent weeks, comes as Victoria Police data has shown a 48.9 per cent increase in reported retail crime in Wangaratta over a recent 90-day period. The operation will be focused on reducing retail crime, addressing repeat offending and enhancing community safety across Wangaratta with a greater police presence around local stores expected. Sergeant Shaun Hillier of Wangaratta police said a small number of repeat offenders were responsible for a disproportionate amount of retail crime in the community. “Their offending can have a significant impact on local businesses, retail workers and members of the public,” he said. “Anti-social behaviour and retail offending can affect the sense of safety within local shopping precincts, contributing to fear and stress among staff and customers and, in some circumstances, resulting in physical or emotional harm.” Intersport in Wangaratta’s Co Store had a recent expansion and have also seen an increase in attempted thefts. Store manager Leanne Cowell said while it does affect the store financially, it’s the resourceful cost involved with retail theft which is felt the most. "If I notice an empty coat hanger generally that's because someone's taken something, so that's my time and the staff’s time trying to work out what it is, it all adds up," she said. “The security tags are a large investment; I've got about 6000 pieces of apparel in here and security tags cost about $5.50 each." The store was victim of a recent alleged shoplifting spree where two offenders grabbed $1900 worth of items and stormed out of the store and to a getaway driver just outside the exit. It’s alleged multiple offenders also hit other stores in Wangaratta the same day. Sgt Hillier said police interviewed multiple people in relation to the organised crime spree. Ms Cowell said she had seen various other thieving techniques employed to attempt to steal from the store. She said she recently had someone walk in wearing just socks and attempting to walk out in a pair of the store’s shoes. Other strategies have included hiding items in clothing, concealing items in the fitting room, swapping price tags of cheap items with expensive items and refund scams with binned receipts. Ms Cowell said a greater police presence and having one entrance to the store has deterred people from stealing and given a greater boost to staff safety. “The people that would generally come in and steal, if they see the police around, they don't,” she said. “A single entrance is important in my view, the first day that we opened with the expansion and had multiple entrances we had a full house and a bunch of kids just ran in to grab stuff. “It didn't last half a day before I got the new entrance blocked in.” Over the past 12 months, Victoria Police has processed alleged offenders in about 78.2 per cent of reported shop theft matters. Sgt Hillier said he encouraged retailers to report every incident of suspected shoplifting online or via phone, no matter how small the cost. “A lot of that success in processing offenders relies on the ability for retailers to give us the information and footage we need,” he said. “We want people down here shopping locally and feeling safe. “The operation is not just about catching crooks, it’s about increasing awareness with staff, retailers and the community.” Non-urgent incidents of retail theft can be reported via the Victoria Police website: https://www.police.vic.gov.au/police-assistance-line-and-online-reporting Where an incident requires an immediate police response, call Triple Zero (000).

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