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Reports of retail theft have hit a ten year high in Greater Sydney. Picture: John Appleyard<\/p>\n
Reports of retail theft in Sydney have hit a 10-year high as cash-strapped residents increasingly turn to desperate measures amid the cost of living crisis.<\/p>\n
Reports of retail theft in Sydney have hit a 10-year high as cash-strapped residents increasingly turn to desperate measures amid the cost of living crisis.<\/p>\n
Analysis of NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics & Research (BOCSAR) showed reported retail theft has climbed 9.1 per cent over just the last two years. <\/p>\n
Alcohol is the most commonly stolen item with a 13 per cent increase in reports since March last year, according to the analysis of bureau figures.<\/p>\n
MORE: Huge price drop for former power couple\u2019s mansion<\/a><\/p>\n Retail theft hit a 10-year high. Picture: NewsWire\/ David Crosling<\/p>\n Macquarie University\u2019s Dr Vince Hurley spent 29 years as a NSW police officer said rises in retail theft charges had occurred amid a change in many store policies.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile there has been an increase, what we will find is that you will rarely see anyone physically arrested,\u201d Dr Hurley said. <\/p>\n \u201cThe reason you don\u2019t see it now is because the shopping centre staff are told not to intervene,\u201d Dr Hurley said. <\/p>\n The rate of retail theft per 100,000 residents climbed from 293.4 in 2016 to reach a 10-year high of 372.5 thefts in the 12 months before March 2026. <\/p>\n Theft hotspots show up in the local government areas of Sydney City (1,204 per 100,000 residents), Burwood (842), Waverley (712), Willoughby (674) and Penrith (576).<\/p>\n MORE: Aus dad\u2019s trade-off gets him $10m in property<\/a><\/p>\n Dr Vincent Hurley received the Australian Institute of Criminology Award for Crime Prevention in 2008. (L-R: Vince Hurley, Senator Chris Evans). Picture: Supplied<\/p>\n Dr Hurley said socioeconomics and the concentration of major shopping complexes are key drivers behind the trends in the BOCSAR data. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at the city of Sydney, that is a very transient population \u2026 a lot of tourists, a lot of students and a high density of population,\u201d Dr Hurley said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat means there\u2019s going to be more thefts just on the basis of foot traffic.<\/p>\n \u201cWhereas Penrith, it\u2019s still very high but it\u2019s a more stable population.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re comparing it to the lower (theft) areas like Hunters Hill, Wollondilly, Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove or Mossman, they don\u2019t have large shopping centres, they have really boutique, individual shops.<\/p>\n \u201cMost (residents) could afford to pay anyway because they\u2019re some really affluent suburbs,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Shoplifting hotspots are common in low socio-economic areas with large shopping centres. Source: BOCSAR\/Primara Research\/HomeLoanRates.com.au<\/p>\n MORE: Shock $2.1k missing from millions of savings accounts<\/a><\/p>\n Penrith was the third fastest riser and saw a 48 per cent jump since last year. <\/p>\n Canada Bay and North Sydney were the top two fastest growing crime hotspots with an 87 and 65 per cent increase respectively. <\/p>\n Dr Hurley said CCTV has reduced public arrests but that corporations discourage police from attending incidents because it \u201cwould destroy the customer experience\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cSomeone will video (an arrest), upload it onto the internet, and it sends a negative message across social media about Coles or Woollies, and they don\u2019t want that negative publicity,\u201d Dr Hurley said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut at the same time, there\u2019s been this increase in the use of CCTV to go back to arrest these individuals after the fact\u201d, he said. <\/p>\n MORE: \u2018Nightmare\u2019: Parents sue child over $4m unit<\/a><\/p>\n Vanessa Rader is the head of research at Ray White Group and said small business are more effected by retail crime.<\/p>\n Ray White head of research Vanessa Rader said property owners will likely only be affected by retail crime if a particular area becomes unviable for commercial tenants. <\/p>\n \u201cOtherwise it\u2019s the poor tenant that\u2019s bearing the brunt of all of that,\u201d Ms Rader said.<\/p>\n \u201c(Small businesses) probably don\u2019t have quite as strict or stringent security measures \u2026 compared to like \u2026 those bigger stores or centres that have that kind of greater security.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re the ones that will be doing it tough,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Large shopping centres draw higher rates of retail theft because of increased foot traffic. Picture: John Gass<\/p>\n MORE: Highest paying \u2018side hustle\u2019 in Aus revealed<\/a><\/p>\n Retail theft has become a \u201cstock loss calculation\u201d for retailers according to Peter Drennan who is the head of research at Primara Research and led the BOCSAR analysis for HomeLoanRates.com.au<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cA suburb\u2019s retail strip is part of what makes it liveable, but that strip also depends on retailers deciding it\u2019s viable to be there,\u201d Mr Drennan said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe years we\u2019ve recorded the sharpest rises (in theft) align closely with a period where mortgage holders have absorbed multiple rate increases and rising costs elsewhere.<\/p>\n \u201cThis data doesn\u2019t prove causation, but the timing lines up too closely to ignore.\u201d <\/p>\n Dr Hurley, pictured during an appearance on the ABC\u2019s Q&A, specialises in the contemporary role of police and policing in society.<\/p>\n Dr Hurley explained that there\u2019s also a psychological difference for people stealing from large corporations versus \u2018mum and pop\u2019 style businesses. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen they steal from a Westfield, Coles or Woollies, it doesn\u2019t attach the product to an individual, it attaches the product to this corporation who is almost invisible and are making increased profits when people are doing it really tough,\u201d Dr Hurley said. <\/p>\n \u201cGenerally speaking, people have more empathy for small businesses,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n![\"CHAPEL](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/capi_158711555c8a2914f2f0caaf208d21b5_8232d24dc0595b1d0e34ac72003e80e4.jpeg\")
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