Instant fines ahead for shoplifters?
Pilfering of goods is a national burden for retailers and consumers,
Retail NZ will ask the government to consider introducing instant infringement notices and spot fines for shoplifters.
Greg Harford from Retail NZ said retailers wanted to see police ‘‘responsiveness’’ to retail crime improve.
‘‘Retail crime across the board, we estimate to be in the order of $1.2 billion a year. That’s something like $660 per household,’’ he claimed.
‘‘That effectively means everyone is paying for it through higher prices for the things they buy.’’
The call for police to get tougher on retail crime echoes pleas from shop lobby groups overseas, such as from the British Retail Consortium in the UK, which believes police are soft on shoplifting.
‘‘Generally, police don’t treat property offences as urgently as crimes against people. That is understandable,’’ Harford says.
But since the mid-2000s, British police have been able to issue Penalty Notices for Disorder, and Retail NZ is within weeks of releasing a report calling on local MPs to study overseas measures designed to combat petty theft.
Harford would not comment on the specifics of the report being prepared, but said: ‘‘We are certainly looking at other systems and other potential solutions ourselves, and we are working on some thinking to present to the Government later this year.’’
The British notices can only be given if the offender agrees to having the matter dealt with in this way. If they do agree, which can prevent the matter heading to court and getting a criminal conviction, they are issued with a fine of £50 or £80, depending on the offence.
There have been concerns the British notices have been issued to repeat offenders, and that many of the fines are never paid.
Repeat offenders in New Zealand are responsible for around 15-20 per cent of retail losses by value, research by crime-fighting tech company Auror indicates.
Closer to home, in New South Wales, police can issue Criminal Infringement Notices to shoplifters caught stealing goods worth less than AU$300. People can elect not to accept the CIN, and are allowed to challenge it in court.
Retail NZ is likely to find its suggestions get a lot of scrutiny, particularly from lawyers representing people from the bottom rungs of society.
Elizabeth Tennet, chief executive of the Community Law Centres of Aotearoa said people accused of criminal offences must be afforded a ‘‘fair’’ process before being deemed guilty.
‘‘Any diminution of that would need to be very carefully thought through,’’ she said.
Some people, such as people with mental illness and poor English language skills, could be vulnerable to instant infringements.
Retailers are getting increasingly organised in their fight to stem shoplifting, and put thieves in the dock.
This includes partnering with private technology company Auror to build what amounts to a retail crime intelligence database.
The Warehouse, Briscoes, Mitre 10, Countdown, Caltex and a growing number of shopping malls now log theft reports and video surveillance on the Auror system, which is then available to all the other retailers.
It enables retailers to provide their reports and evidence to the police online, but without taking hours of staff time.
SHOP DEFENSIVE STRATEGIES
Store layout: Eliminating dark corners, having clear lines of sight for staff, and putting high value goods in the most visible areas.
Exit strategies: Controlling entry and exit is key. Many more things than shoppers realise are tagged, like supermarket meat.
Security guards: Their powers to detain shoppers are limited. They rely on shoplifters cooperating, except if the goods stolen are worth $1000 or more, or the theft happens at night.
Trespass notices: Shops can ‘‘trespass’’ shoplifters. If they return later, they can face fines up to $1000, or even jail.
Invoicing thieves: ‘‘Civil recovery notices’’ can be issued by shops, but there is no obligation to pay.