But experts say the thievery can\u2019t all be put down to the higher cost of living, and instead say criminals are stealing in bulk to then on-sell to either gangs or groups to get cash, likely to be used to continue to fund drug addictions.<\/p>\n
Police also suspect the figures from the Ministry of Justice are likely just a \u201cfraction\u201d of the amount of theft that goes on, despite an increase in reported crime from retailers.<\/p>\n
Matt Tierney, who heads the police National Retail Investigation Support Unit, says the criminals were largely the hardcore, or recidivist, ones, who were stealing \u201ceffectively every day\u201d products which they can then on-sell.<\/p>\n
Woolworths has seen a 238% increase in violence and aggression in its stores since 2018, while Retail NZ says there\u2019s some scepticism that police would turn up to a theft.<\/p>\n
Young Hamilton mother Awhina Rehua used a pram during her theft ruse, managing to steal seven vacuum cleaners over a 13-month period. <\/p>\n
In sentencing her to home detention, Judge Glen Marshall said he was prepared to keep her out of jail given her background and responsibilities as a mother of three young children.<\/p>\n
More charges, more convictions<\/p>\n
Data released to NZME under the Official Information Act revealed there was a gap of just 404 charges, between those laid nationally in the 2024\/25 year, 36,179, to those laid by police in 2008\/09, which holds the highest on record of 36,583.<\/p>\n
Unsurprisingly, that\u2019s also involved a rise in the conviction rate.<\/p>\n
Of the 36,179 people charged, 72% were convicted, compared to 68% 10 years ago, when 16,053 people were convicted.<\/p>\n
More specifically, the number of people convicted of theft from retail premises in the 2024\/25 year was 14,626, which has more than quadrupled since data began in 1980\/81 of 2947.<\/p>\n
That figure has steadily grown over the past few years, from 8161 in 2022\/23, and 11,703, in 2023\/24, apart from a small dip in 2021\/2022, possibly due to the Covid pandemic, of 5809.<\/p>\n
As for where shoplifting was most prolific, Canterbury was the hotspot between 2015 and 2020\/21 with the most theft charges, before it moved north to the East Coast, Waikato, South Auckland, and Auckland.<\/p>\n
Nationally, last year featured the highest number of convictions and charges laid, with 2844 and 3314, respectively, over the last 10 years.<\/p>\n
There is a catch with the data though, as it only captures a person once per financial year for their most serious charge.<\/p>\n
\u2018Criminals like to operate in the dark\u2019<\/p>\n
Tierney\u2019s unit was established five years ago to specifically combat shoplifting.<\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t surprised by the figures, and believed that it was only a \u201cfraction\u201d of the total amount of reported crime from retailers, which had been \u201cstubbornly increasing over the past three to four years\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said that\u2019s partly because of it being easier for people to report crime through online platforms and 105.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of those adages: the more it gets highlighted, the more the retailers work collaboratively, they understand our needs, and reporting actually goes up as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for what sort of stores criminals are targeting, Tierney said it was \u201cacross the board\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cDepending on what the offender wants, really. <\/p>\n
Matt Tierney heads the police National Retail Investigation Support Unit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not specific to one brand or one chain.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said it was essential for retailers to make their shops less appealing to thieves and get their staff to welcome customers into the store.<\/p>\n
\u201cCriminals like to operate in the dark, and by simply shining light onto them, the vast majority will go somewhere else and think twice about it. <\/p>\n
\u201cOffenders just want to go about their business and get in and get out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Facial recognition also served as a deterrent, but more so at larger stores, as it alerted businesses to those who were trespassing as they walked in.<\/p>\n
As for who\u2019s doing the crime, it\u2019s the hardcore, or recidivist, offenders, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are stealing effectively, every day, various different things or whatever they can on-sell.\u201d<\/p>\n
And it wasn\u2019t just due to the cost of living.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure that still happens, but not anywhere near the scale of offenders that we\u2019re dealing with; taking 20 packets of meat or 30 Lynx fragrances, or walking into Chemist Warehouse and stealing 20 bottles of perfume.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no way that\u2019s for personal use.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tierney wouldn\u2019t comment on who the offenders were selling to, such as gangs, but urged the public to be aware of items being sold online, mainly on Facebook Marketplace, for prices that were \u201ctoo good to be true\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, FB Marketplace is quite rife for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Awhina Flame Rehua, 31, in the Hamilton District Court for sentencing at the end of May. Photo \/ Belinda Feek<\/p>\n
Pram used in theft ruse<\/p>\n
Awhina Flame Rehua was identified by Tierney\u2019s team as a \u201cnationwide recidivist retail crime offender\u201d. <\/p>\n
The 31-year-old mother avoided jail on a slew of shoplifting charges – including the theft of seven vacuum cleaners – in the Hamilton District Court in May, totalling just under $14,000.<\/p>\n
On December 20, last year, she stole three vacuums in one day.<\/p>\n
She walked into Briscoes Petone, put a Dyson and a Shark steam and Scrub in her trolley and just walked out without paying. She returned six minutes later to steal another Dyson.<\/p>\n
All up, that was worth $4229.90.<\/p>\n
Judge Glen Marshall explained how she had shoplifting or obtain by deception convictions in 2023, 2022, 2020, 2018, 2015, and 2014.<\/p>\n
In her latest offending, Rehua targeted the bigger stores: Chemist Warehouse, Woolworths, Briscoes, Mitre 10, Farmers, MECCA, in Hamilton, Tauranga, and Wellington between January 2025 and February this year, using her pram as part of her ruse to avoid suspicion. <\/p>\n
In many thefts, she\u2019d push her pram around the store, with several bags hanging from the side. After selecting items and putting them in a black basket, she would then transfer them to her bag.<\/p>\n
Sometimes she\u2019d leave without paying for anything; other times, she\u2019d select a drink or a low-cost product and pay for that.<\/p>\n
However, there were occasions at Chemist Warehouse Chartwell and Mitre 10 Mega Hamilton that security stopped her and recovered property she was trying to steal.<\/p>\n
She even took a Ninja Slushi off the shelf and up to the counter for a refund at Briscoes The Base. She was duly paid out $359 and left.<\/p>\n
Knowing NZME wanted to take her photo during court proceedings, Rehua filed an opposition, through her counsel Angela Smith, with an application for permanent name suppression, citing the effect it would have on her mental health and rehabilitation.<\/p>\n
However, the judge declined it and said the victims \u201cwould no doubt\u201d oppose it. <\/p>\n
The judge asked Smith about Rehua\u2019s ability to pay reparation.<\/p>\n
Smith said Rehua would struggle, but would, if she needed to, and could only afford $10 per week. <\/p>\n
Judge Marshall imposed a 12-month jail term and, after taking into account her personal circumstances, including that she was the sole carer of her three young children, agreed to commute it to five months\u2019 home detention.<\/p>\n
However, he also ordered her to pay reparation – just over $12,000 – at $10 per week. <\/p>\n
Scepticism police will turn up<\/p>\n
Carolyn Young, chief executive of Retail NZ, said the offending rates most recently had started to plateau, due to measures put in place by retailers, but there was still no silver bullet to quash the issue.<\/p>\n
In its most recent survey, now up to half of its stores were reporting thefts to police, up from 33%.<\/p>\n
However, some store owners were still dubious that police would turn up or that offenders would be dealt with responsibly by the court. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if they ring 105, does it just go into a big dark hole, will the offender ever be caught, and if caught, will the justice system make a difference or have any repercussions for them,\u201d Young said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce somebody has offended once, they often return and offend again and again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since Covid, people have been more agitated, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey can go off the handle quicker.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carolyn Young, chief executive of Retail NZ.<\/p>\n
Data she\u2019d gathered showed that up to 85% of recidivist thefts were happening in bigger stores, she said.<\/p>\n
The remaining 15% came out of calls from 111 or 105.<\/p>\n
She believed the thefts happened for three main reasons: organised crime, addiction and youth crime.<\/p>\n
Organised crime didn\u2019t necessarily mean gangs either, as she was aware of groups who were \u201cstealing to order\u201d, items including $1000 worth of meat which had already been sold.<\/p>\n
It was then sold on Facebook Marketplace. <\/p>\n
Many people with addictions were stealing to get money for their next fix, while young people were copying trends seen overseas on social media or had family involved in organised crime. <\/p>\n
At larger stores, including Farmers, Briscoes, or Mitre 10, power items and vacuum cleaners were commonly stolen.<\/p>\n
However, staff were told not to intervene as it was known that 80% of violent or aggressive behaviour happened when offenders were confronted. <\/p>\n
\u201cBecause so many people have a weapon these days – whether a screwdriver, knife, machete, or a gun – there\u2019s a lot of that happening and they\u2019re usually concealed.\u201d <\/p>\n
Dozens of serious incidents a month<\/p>\n
A Foodstuffs North Island spokesperson said their stores were dealing with between 1600 and 1700 retail crime incidents each month. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s down from a high of just over 2000 in January 2025. <\/p>\n
\u201cEach month we still deal with around 30 to 40 serious incidents, things like assaults, burglaries, robberies and break-ins, and about six incidents that involved weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n
Repeat offenders caused most of the harm. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re now behind about 45% of everything we see, including around 200 trespass breaches a month. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe stores being impacted the most are in Hawke\u2019s Bay, Hamilton, Auckland and Wellington, so it\u2019s not just one area, it\u2019s a North Island-wide issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for what thieves were targeting, it was usually the same products, including high-value meat, health and beauty items, snacks and confectionery, and alcohol. <\/p>\n
Facial recognition technology has been trialled in 25 stores.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we can say is that the six-month-long trial showed the technology can be used responsibly, and it helped prevent around 100 incidents from happening. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe know it works, and we\u2019re looking at where it makes sense to use it next.\u201d <\/p>\n
Along with the facial recognition trial, Foodstuffs NI uses CCTV, uniformed and plain-clothes security guards, body cameras, and a zero-tolerance approach to offending. <\/p>\n
\u2018Violence, aggression has risen 238% in seven years\u2019<\/p>\n
Despite \u201csignificant\u201d investment in safety and security at Woolworths, the company has continued to see serious acts of violence and aggression rise. <\/p>\n
Woolworths head of safety, health and wellbeing, Denva Wren, said that from 2018 to 2025, the company recorded a 238% increase in acts of violence and aggression. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur front line team experiences verbal and physical abuse, including threatening events and weapons being presented, much of this is related to retail crime events.\u201d<\/p>\n
Woolworths says it has experienced a 238% increase in acts of violence and aggression since 2018. <\/p>\n
As for its use of facial recognition, Woolworths was in the \u201cearly stages\u201d of investigating its potential use.<\/p>\n
Wren said they saw FRT as a tool to help intervene with issues earlier, to help keep their team and customers safe. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to get the use of FRT right, so our approach has been to initially test the technology, understand how it works and to step closer to our privacy, security, cultural and use case requirements. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re taking a cautious, staged and considered approach, including taking lessons from other retailers that have implemented FRT. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe take privacy seriously and respect the privacy of our customers, so if we decide to trial FRT in stores, we will meet our privacy obligations to our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Briscoes and Rebel Sport announced in March they were trialling the technology, while Bunnings followed suit in May. <\/p>\n
The technology was live across Bunnings North Island stores, while a rollout in its South Island stores would remain dependent on its success further north. <\/p>\n
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 11 years and has been a journalist for 22.<\/p>\n