Retail Drinks Australia (RDA) is calling for urgent bipartisan action to protect retail workers and small businesses as retail crime continues to affect liquor stores across NSW.
The call follows a series of incidents, including break-ins at stores across Sydney’s Northern Beaches and an incident in Mascot in which teenagers stole alcohol and pushed retail workers. RDA said theft, break-ins, intimidation and violence are affecting liquor retailers across the state.
“This is another example of increasingly brazen retail crime targeting local retail liquor businesses,” RDA CEO Michael Waters said, adding that the incidents were part of a wider trend.
Retail crime in NSW has increased by 67 per cent over the past five years, according to the RDA. Research involving more than 1000 liquor stores found that nearly half of staff experience a security incident each week or more often, yet only 47 per cent of stores report every incident to police. Meanwhile, 15 per cent of employees said they feel unsafe or very unsafe at work.
“Retailers are investing heavily in CCTV, security and staff training, but they cannot tackle this problem alone,” Waters said.
Through its Safe to Serve industry responsibility program, RDA provides retailers and staff with practical resources on security risk assessments and target-hardening. They also cover physical security, de-escalation and managing high-risk situations.
RDA is also participating in consultation on Workplace Protection Orders and welcomed the NSW Government’s commitment to the measures. It called for the legislation to be introduced and passed without delay.
“Government should be helping small businesses make themselves harder targets, while ensuring police and the courts have the tools to deal with those who repeatedly target them,” Waters said.
RDA is also calling on the NSW Government and Opposition to support its proposed Small Business Security Rebate Program. The program would provide businesses with matched grants of up to $15,000 for measures including CCTV, alarm systems and access-control systems, as well as security assessment vouchers worth up to $3000.
The proposal is based on a model used in the Northern Territory. RDA also called on the NSW Government to continue working with the industry on enforcement and support for retailers.
