14-05-2025
Small business owners hope police portal will stop ‘daily' shoplifting and abuse
Every morning when Chris Lawler opens the doors of his Canberran pharmacy, he knows some of the customers won't be coming to purchase, but to steal.
Mr Lawler has been running his pharmacy for 12 years and said theft was just a part of doing daily business.
The pharmacy chain his store is a part of loses $150,000 per year to shoplifting across three stores.
He said people just walked in and took things from the shelves, sometimes filling shopping bags with products before leaving the store directly in front of staff members.
"They can be verbally abusive if we confront them," Mr Lawler said.
He has seen staff spat on in revenge for calling out shoplifters. On one occasion, a thief urinated on products in retaliation, rendering them unsellable.
The pharmacy has CCTV cameras and reports most thefts to the police.
"They don't normally come to the store.
"They usually tell you to issue a ban notice — that way next time the customer comes into the store [the police] are able to action something."
ACT Policing has expanded its online reporting tool to include retail theft and lost property such as tools stolen from a ute, or a stolen bike.
The online portal, first used in June 2023 to report property damage and vandalism and, from 2024, dangerous driving, allows residents to report incidents of crime without having to call police or visit a police station.
ACT Policing Chief Police Officer Scott Lee said the portal allowed for a better allocation of police resources.
"The police response to those types of matters does not change. It's the same response we provide regardless of which way you report it."
Chief Police Officer Lee said police would still triage jobs, and while officers would not necessarily attend to every reported incident, they would be recorded.
"Those matters are treated seriously, and we do investigate those matters," he said.
Since its 2023 inception, more than 3,600 incidents have been reported through the portal.
Mr Lawler said he would use the portal instead of the frequent calls he makes to police and he hopes action is taken, particularly against repeat offenders targeting small businesses across the city.
He said more could be done to protect small businesses from shoplifters.
One issue is staff cannot do anything about a customer until they try and physically leave the store without paying for their items.
"Even if you catch them putting it in their bag, it's really hard to stop them," Mr Lawler said.
"Currently the system isn't working. Theft seems to be increasing.
"Theft is a huge problem for small businesses."
