As the collective purse strings of a nation tighten as they find themselves struggling to survive a cost-of-living crisis, desperation is rising, and the effects are being felt across the country.
From heightened customer aggression to an increase in retail and fuel theft, the P&C channel is at the forefront of an alarming trend.
Theo Foukkare, CEO of the Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS), calls the rise in aggressive behaviour and theft, including shoplifting, aggravated burglaries, and fuel drive-offs, as one of the most pressing concerns for AACS members.
“Over the past few years, we have seen these crimes evolve from petty theft to more organised and brazen incidents, where offenders show little concern for consequences. Unfortunately, there has been a noticeable increase in violent incidents where staff and customers are put at risk.
“The biggest challenge is the evolving nature of crime, where offenders are becoming more brazen and organised, along with the continued aggression and actions by youth offenders. They seem to know how the system works when they are young and think they can continue to get away with this.”
Nick McDonnell, Senior Director Trust, Safety and Global Public Policy at Auror, believes team safety and customer experience are paramount for retailers.
“Petrol and convenience stores often have sole charge workers who work throughout the night, and that presents further challenges in terms of safety. These stores need technology that not only protects their employees from potential violence, but also ensures a positive and safe experience for customers.”
Auror’s Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology allows team members to instantly identify any vehicles that have previously been involved in a drive-off or a possible theft in the store – as soon as the vehicle pulls into the forecourt.
“By deploying this at their sites, retailers can capture and analyse data about vehicles entering their forecourt. If a vehicle has a history of drive-offs or is linked to violent incidents, team members get immediate alerts. This allows them to take appropriate actions, which can include reporting to law enforcement,” explains McDonnell.
Retail crime
According to the Victoria’s Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) incidences of theft from a retail store in the state increased 38.8 per cent to 14,078 alleged incidents for the year ending 31 March 2024.
Haydn Tierney, Managing Director of Bowser Bean, which has a number of stores in Victoria, noted an increase in forced entry while the store is closed.
“These types of security incidents used to happen once or twice a year across the network. We are now dealing with this issue at least once a month.”
Tierney explained that Bowser Bean uses fog cannons in its stores, and when these devices are activated, the shop fills with a thick fog in a matter of seconds, making further theft and damage difficult for the criminal.
“Fog cannons were an excellent means to minimise losses after the break-in occurred as escape became the criminal’s primary concern once they were triggered. Unfortunately, the criminals have evolved and now have strategies and counter measures to negate these canons. They are organised and know where and what instore they want to target and can be in and out in a short period of time.”
Due to the criminals smartening up, Bowser Bean has now started to implement further measures at its stores such as roller shutters and reinforced doors, although Tierney is just grateful most of the break-ins are out of staff hours.
“We train our crew to not put themselves in harm’s way and minimise times of heightened risk. Fortunately, the recent wave of break ins has occurred outside of staff hours.”
The mental and emotional toll on staff that experience break-ins and general consumer aggression is equally as damaging as the tens of millions of dollars it costs the industry annually, explains Foukkare.
“We are seeing our retail members forced to invest in expensive security measures, and the need for increased vigilance can significantly affect the day-to-day running of their stores. This is also being supported through ongoing training and mental support programs to ensure the safety and ongoing wellbeing of teams.”
Fuel theft
Petrol theft is costing Australian retailers as much as $82 million annually and is believed to be on the rise according to SenSen, who offer a solution to retailers suffering from petrol theft with their Scancam technology which uses artificial intelligence to help prevent theft at the bowser.
Nathan Rogers, Chief Commercial Officer at SenSen, believes that the cost-of-living crisis seems to have driven an increase in fuel theft.
“Fuel is the most expensive and high-risk product that petrol stations offer. It is also one of the smallest profit margin products, so even small losses can have a big impact.”
Over the past two months, SenSen has seen a 38 per cent growth in new orders of the Scancam technology, facilitating the recovery of more than $2.5 million for retailers, including 7-Eleven, Ampol, bp, Caltex, EG, Liberty, Metro, OTR, Puma, S24, United and Vibe.
“The Scancam system scans license plates as vehicles approach the fuel pump. Within seconds, it alerts the operator if the motorist is a known offender who should not be allowed to post-pay. Additionally, Scancam displays license plate information prominently on-site to ensure motorists know they’re being monitored and to deter opportunistic drive-offs. If a drive-off occurs without payment, Scancam generates an incident report, including video footage, with minimal management follow-up,” said Rogers.
According to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, fuel theft in the state has increased 23 per cent between July 2023 and June 2024 from the previous year, with instances rising from 11,698 to 15,204.
One NSW retailer that has felt the impact of fuel theft is Webbs Petroleum. Webbs operates seven retail sites and one depot across the state and has highlighted drive-offs as a continuing issue for its stores, with these incidences costing the business on average $20,000 a year.
Jason Webb, Retail Co-ordinator at Webbs Petroleum, explained that it would cost a further $20,000 to process claims, copy USB sticks and maintain camera facilities, with the recovery percentage of drive-offs sitting at just 15 per cent.
“Most are either stolen number plates or interstate travellers, which the NSW police have no jurisdiction over. Night and early morning are the most common times for drive-offs, when lighting is low and there are minimal people around.
“To minimise this, we have pre-pay at the pumps from 9.00pm-5.00am. We close off three pump islands to bring customers into the centre of the forecourt and we have installed the Auror system which the NSW Police have endorsed.”
While drive-offs are costing the business money, it’s not just the monetary impact affecting the business, Webb explains that they have seen a recent change in customer’s attitude.
“Fuel is not a pleasant customer purchase, and the customer is a lot more aggressive and vocal towards staff. Our front counter staff get a lot of flak, and it upsets them for the remainder of the shift. The tolerance level of customers has declined considerably.
“Implementing pre-pay has been a way to reduce drive-offs within the nighttime window, but customers perceptions are now that we are treating them like criminals for the minority that do the crime.”
Finding a solution
The advancement of technologies has allowed some retailers to reduce the amount of crime in their stores, but the general sentiment is that more is needed to be done in punishing those who commit such crimes.
AACS advocates for stronger laws and penalties for offenders across the country, and provides its members with resources, such as training programs and security best practices, to help them better protect their businesses.
“Through our ongoing engagement with government and law enforcement, we aim to ensure that retail crime is treated with the seriousness it deserves for frontline staff and offences against our retail workers be treated the same way as if an essential worker like police or ambulance are assaulted,” said Foukkare.
Foukkare explained that by working with government, law enforcement, and the community, a safer environment for both staff and customers can be created.
“Government policy is critical, and it is their responsibility to have the frameworks in place to keep all communities safe. We need stronger legislation to ensure that retail crime is dealt with swiftly and harshly. This includes better enforcement around fuel theft, stronger penalties for offenders, and greater support for retailers who are repeatedly victimised.”
*Victoria’s Crime Statistics Agency (CSA)
This article originally appeared in the October/November issue of Convenience and Impulse Retailing magazine.
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