Retailers are reporting a dramatic spike in the number of desperate mums shoplifting in stores amid rising cost-of-living pressures.
Data shows there has been a 20 per cent rise in store theft, which costs retailers a whopping $9 billion a year.
But while businesses have always been affected by organised crime syndicates and professional shoplifters, security cameras and shop owners have revealed the number of ordinary individuals increasingly turning to theft has “surged”.
Praesidium Risk and Resilience managing director and a leading expert in retail security, behaviour, and deception detection, Scott Taylor, has noticed a worrying shift in criminal behaviour.
“While shoplifting in general is on the up, we’re also noticing an increase in theft from mums and older Australians who are really feeling the ‘cost of living’ pressures,” he told news.com.au.
“It’s happening daily across the spread of retailers, and the items being stolen are quite diverse – from steak and BBQ chicken through to chocolates and other treat-type items.
“Whilst bulky jackets and bags can be used to disguise the act, mums are using other items like strollers to try and stash the items prior to leaving stores.”
Despite there being “six main types of shoplifters”, Mr Taylor said many of the women committing these crimes fall into the “desperate” category.
“The cost of living crisis is a driving force for this and that can drive the desperation style shoplifting,” he explained.
“They are often prepared prior to attending the site and may have multiple or large bags, baggy clothing as well.”
Other types of shoplifters include “the opportunist” who generally tends to be more inexperienced, Mr Taylor said.
There’s also the “thrill seeker” who often commits the crime on a dare or whim, as well as “the booster” who will steal to resell.
People who steal out of compulsion are “the kleptomaniac”, then those who steal by accident are dubbed “absent minded”.
“Whilst people will shoplift for any of those reasons, stealing for their self-perceived necessity or for the thrill is a more common motivation for the mums that are stealing and due to their inexperience, their behaviours equally stand out similar to the opportunist shoplifters,” he added.
“It’s not uncommon for some of the mums to have their children with them as well.”
Seeing the act first hand in his shop is Sydney’s famous Redfern Convenience Store owner Hazem Sedda, who said it has been difficult to witness the spike in parents taking such drastic measures.
“It’s very surprising to see mothers stealing in plain view of their kids,” he told news.com.au.
“I feel awful for those little ones because they start crying, worrying that their mum will go to jail.
“I always try to take the children aside, offer them a free treat, and then talk to mum about the shoplifting. It’s really heartbreaking.”
Mr Sedda explained he’s losing about 5 per cent of potential revenue due to the dramatic increase in theft, but added it was more until he hired additional staff to monitor shoppers.
“We had to hire more staff to keep a closer eye on customers as they browse and our insurance premiums have skyrocketed,” he said.
“The loss of stock needs to be factored in as well – but you also need to consider the impact on other customers too.
“We have a huge range of chocolates, more than 5000 products, and on average, customers stay for 30 to 45 minutes looking at all the products. But if those customers see someone getting caught shoplifting, they feel uncomfortable and tend to leave early, often without purchasing anything.”
Another measure he’s implemented to help curb his financial losses is CCTV in his store, but Mr Sedda said it has done little to stop shoplifters.
“People just put on hoodies and sunglasses, knowing it’ll be difficult to identify them, and they steal while looking at the camera,” he said.
“After hiring more staff, so that when someone is serving, the other person is watching, we also changed up the layout of the shelves, placing the items people steal often behind the counter or closer to us.
“It hasn’t solved the problem.”
Security camera images shared by Mr Sedda, filmed at his popular Sydney convenience store, show women placing everyday items such as ice creams, medicines and personal hygiene products.
But despite the escalating struggles, Mr Sedda believes “jail isn’t the answer”, and instead tries to show anyone he catches in the act compassion.
“Calling the police often escalates the situation, so we strive to make these individuals our friends and ensure they feel welcome,” he shared.
“If we treat them with kindness and understanding, they typically return that respect.
“I am Palestinian, I grew up in poor country with lots of problems, so I know first-hand that good people sometimes do wrong when facing difficult circumstances.”
As well as the rise in desperate mums stealing, Mr Taylor said retailers are also being hit with “more brazen organised crime gangs”, who are stealing things such as baby formula, vitamins, and USB Drives with sophisticated techniques.
“It’s no long grab and runs; it’s grab and walks,” he explained.
“Thieves are coming in during the day when they know there is skeleton staffing and no security, and they just take what they want and exit the store.
“The feedback from various retailers I speak with is that there are also more verbal threats around edged weapons, with incidents occurring in bottle shops, supermarkets, and across a variety of product lines.”
Supermarkets have invested in a wealth of new security measures in recent months in a bid to deter would-be criminals.
Both Coles and Woolworths now have a range of cameras tracking shoppers in stores as well as advanced technology on gates and trolleys to prevent shoplifters getting away.