Cases of meat theft skyrocket in supermarkets
By
VanessaC
- Replies 11
The meat section, once a place of a simple choice between cuts and types, has now become a hotbed for illicit activities.
In an alarming trend, supermarkets across Australia reportedly witnessed a surge in brazen meat thefts, with thieves costing the industry up to $9 billion a year.
Fred Harrison, CEO of Ritchies IGA, shared a recent incident where a woman used her children to steal meat from one of his stores.
'A lady came in with a pram, had two young kids load it up, placed [at least 12 to 15 packs of meat] in the pram with a blanket over the meat and a kid,' he recalled.
'She virtually did a runner out the front door.'
This incident is not an isolated one.
Supermarkets across the country are grappling with similar thefts, and it's not just the financial loss that's concerning—the brazenness of these thefts and the involvement of children raise serious questions about societal values and the lengths people will go to for a free meal.
In light of the increased thefts, the supermarket industry is fighting back.
'We are getting better now we know what's going on,' Harrison said.
'We have more video, we're concentrating on having video recorders on our meat cases, and we're employing more and more store detectives than ever before.'
The culprits are not always who you might expect.
'They talk about the people they're apprehending, and it's Mr and Mrs Public—often it's females anywhere from their 40s through to their 60s and 70s, and it's just disappointing that people almost have that sense of entitlement,' Harrison added.
While the thieves may get away with it once or twice, Harrison is confident that they will eventually be caught.
'We may not catch these people [the] first time round, but we certainly will [the] second or third time,' he said.
These incidents square with a study from comparison website Finder, which showed that a growing number of Australians have turned to petty theft just to get by.
Finder surveyed over 1,000 people and found that 12 per cent confessed to stealing basic necessities like food, fuel, and other retail items in the past year due to financial stress.
This figure equates to a staggering 2.4 million people in Australia engaging in unlawful behaviour to afford basics.
The study also showed that five per cent of Australians had stolen items at the self-checkout of supermarkets, while four per cent lied about what they scanned—for example, shoppers indicated the machine was weighing onions rather than avocados.
You can read more about this here.
What are your thoughts on this issue, members? Share them in the comments below.
In an alarming trend, supermarkets across Australia reportedly witnessed a surge in brazen meat thefts, with thieves costing the industry up to $9 billion a year.
Fred Harrison, CEO of Ritchies IGA, shared a recent incident where a woman used her children to steal meat from one of his stores.
'A lady came in with a pram, had two young kids load it up, placed [at least 12 to 15 packs of meat] in the pram with a blanket over the meat and a kid,' he recalled.
'She virtually did a runner out the front door.'
This incident is not an isolated one.
Supermarkets across the country are grappling with similar thefts, and it's not just the financial loss that's concerning—the brazenness of these thefts and the involvement of children raise serious questions about societal values and the lengths people will go to for a free meal.
In light of the increased thefts, the supermarket industry is fighting back.
'We are getting better now we know what's going on,' Harrison said.
'We have more video, we're concentrating on having video recorders on our meat cases, and we're employing more and more store detectives than ever before.'
The culprits are not always who you might expect.
'They talk about the people they're apprehending, and it's Mr and Mrs Public—often it's females anywhere from their 40s through to their 60s and 70s, and it's just disappointing that people almost have that sense of entitlement,' Harrison added.
While the thieves may get away with it once or twice, Harrison is confident that they will eventually be caught.
'We may not catch these people [the] first time round, but we certainly will [the] second or third time,' he said.
These incidents square with a study from comparison website Finder, which showed that a growing number of Australians have turned to petty theft just to get by.
Finder surveyed over 1,000 people and found that 12 per cent confessed to stealing basic necessities like food, fuel, and other retail items in the past year due to financial stress.
This figure equates to a staggering 2.4 million people in Australia engaging in unlawful behaviour to afford basics.
The study also showed that five per cent of Australians had stolen items at the self-checkout of supermarkets, while four per cent lied about what they scanned—for example, shoppers indicated the machine was weighing onions rather than avocados.
You can read more about this here.
Key Takeaways
- Criminals are increasingly targeting supermarkets for meat theft, costing up to $9 billion a year.
- Ritchies IGA CEO Fred Harrison reported a recent incident where a woman used a pram to steal numerous packs of meat from one of their stores.
- Supermarkets have enhanced their security measures, including using more video surveillance and hiring additional store detectives.
- Store management acknowledged that while thieves may not be caught on their first attempt, the chances of apprehending them increase with repeated attempts.