The growth in store theft across Australia is currently growing faster than theft from a residential location, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Store theft grew by 7 per cent in 2024 compared to the prior year, while home robberies grew by 3 per cent. The total recorded incidences of store theft is 268,666, while home theft is at 149,974.
This comes as victims of theft (excluding motor vehicles) recorded by police rose by six per cent in 2024 to reach the highest number since 2003.
ABS head of crime and justice statistics Samantha Hall said there were 595,660 recorded victims of theft in 2024.
“These thefts, which include things like shoplifting and pickpocketing, but not motor vehicle thefts, have been continually rising since a drop during 2020 when COVID-19 restrictions were introduced,” Hall said.
“The largest rise over the past year was in Victoria, up 29 per cent, followed by Tasmania, which rose by 11 per cent.
“Thefts at retail locations rose from 32 per cent of all thefts in 2010 to 45 per cent in 2024. Meanwhile, thefts from residential locations have dropped from 30 to 25 per cent of all thefts over the same period.”
The surge in Victoria comes after Rebel Sport’s parent company Super Retail Group reported surging retail crime in the sporting brand’s Victorian stores, which consequently affected the Rebel’s margins and the group’s.
In Victoria, there were 3,436 victims of robbery recorded in Victoria in 2024, an increase of 16 per cent (460 victims) from 2023.
Store robberies and home robberies aside, ABS data showed there was a 16 per cent increase in general robberies in the state of Victoria, hitting 3,436 victims. Nearly two-thirds (61 per cent) of these robberies involved a weapon, and 31 per cent most commonly occurred on a street or footpath.
‘Other’ theft in Victoria, which includes retail theft, was up 29 per cent to 169,673 victims. This was the highest recorded number in the time series, and is more than 50,000 more than New South Wales.
In NSW, other theft was up just 1 per cent, with a similar low single-digit growth also recorded in Queensland.
Other theft in South Australia, Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Western Australia dropped by 7 per cent, 9 per cent, 3 per cent and 2 per cent respectively, while Tasmania was the only other state to report a double-digit rise of 11 per cent.
In Tasmania, more than half (62 per cent) of other theft offences occurred at a retail location.