Government urged to make the situation a matter of urgency
Retail crime involving weapons in Australia surged in 2024 as peak bodies called on the government to urgently address the problem.
Data from retailers using the crime reporting software Auror showed that retail crime involving weapons saw a 66% year-on-year increase in 2024.
Incidents involving knives and blades increased by more than 40% last year, with these events making up more than 50% of all events involving weapons.
According to the report, almost one in 10 retail crime events in Australia last year were violent, while one in four involved violence, intimidation, harassment, threats, or physical or verbal abuse.
Nick McDonnell, Auror Senior Director Trust & Safety, said the data shows that retail crime is becoming more brazen, violent, and organised.
"Police do an incredible job keeping us all safe and there is no substitute for the hands-on work they do in our community, but crime in retail is such a high-volume crime type that it's impossible to address it all," McDonnell said in a statement.
"However, focusing on repeat offenders causing the majority of the high-volume, high-harm offences is critical – and you can only do that if you have visibility to the total problem."
Victoria sees biggest increase
By state, Victoria saw the biggest increase in the five areas covered by Auror, logging a 52% increase in threatening events from the previous year.
It also saw the biggest increase in serious events (38%), with the top incidents involving weapons being knives and blades, hammers, scissors, and box cutters.
Source: Auror
"We're continuing to see an increase in retail crime and aggressive behaviour across the country, particularly in Victoria," said Fleur Brown, chief industry affairs officer of the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), in a statement.
The Victorian government last year unveiled plans to introduce legislation implementing tougher penalties for people who assault or abuse retail workers.
The reforms, set for 2025 introduction in Parliament, will add Victoria to the list of states and territories that are responding to the growing incidents of customer aggression and assaults. The others include South Australia, New South Wales, Northern Territory, and Western Australia.
But beyond measures at the state and territory level, peak bodies in Australia are urging the national government to make retail crime a matter of urgency.
Lindsay Carroll, interim CEO of the National Retail Association, said policymakers need to prioritise dealing with this community harm nationally.
"Governments need to give retailers and police the right tools, whether that be funding, policy changes, or even just political leadership to effectively address this growing trend of violence in retail, and so repeat offenders can be identified and brought to justice," Carroll said in a statement.
"Criminals have become bolder, and our system needs to keep up; this includes leaning into technology-based solutions that can deal with this challenge at scale."
