Victorian Liberal leader Brad Battin has released a $100 million plan to tackle increasing crime in the state, with both the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and National Retail Association (NRA) applauding the proposed measures.
The measures include the adoption of Jack’s Law, which will give police greater powers to search people in public spaces to identify and remove knives and other weapons.
Jack’s Law was originally implemented in Queensland, which has since been made permanent this year following pleasing results.
The $100 million plan also includes the establishment of ‘Restart’ – a Victorian-first residential responsibility and discipline program, as well as a coordinated community-based intervention program called ‘Youthstart’.
"Jack's Law will enable police to remove weapons from our streets, including machetes that were at the centre of a gruesome crime last weekend, where two young boys were hacked to death,” Battin said.
"Police and PSOs will have the power to use handheld wands in any public place, including train stations, shopping centres, and knife crime hotspots without the need for designations.
"Police need the tools and resources to act so we can restore community safety and let Victorians live free from fear.”
ARA CEO Chris Rodwell said retail crime is at a crisis point in Victoria, adding it will get worse if Victoria doesn’t take active measures.
“Retailers are doing everything they can to protect their teams and their customers, but they can’t solve this alone,” Rodwell said. “We need to see a unified approach from government, police and industry to address the challenge.
“Bi-partisan support is vital and that’s why we commend the ongoing focus on this issue by the Victorian Opposition Leader, Brad Battin.”
But Rodwell wants the retail crime measures to go even further in Victoria, noting that Workplace Protection orders are now a critical priority. He noted that WPOs have been highly effective in the Australian Capital Territory and are under active consideration in other states.
“For the past two years, we’ve been calling for tougher legislation in Victoria specifically targeting abuse or assault of retail workers, similar to measures introduced in South Australia, New South Wales and Western Australia,” Rodwell said. “We urgently need a firm commitment on the timing of this by the government.
“Sadly, our retail teams are paying the price for the government’s delay. Across the country, on average, a violent or serious incident occurs around every five minutes, according to crime reporting platform Auror.
“Victoria remains the national hot spot. It accounts for almost 35 per cent of total incidents. In the latest numbers, it registered 60 per cent more incidents than any other State, making it the retail crime capital of the nation.”
Rodwell added that one in ten incidents now involve assault, physical abuse, weapons, burglary, aggression and other similar behaviours. “Repeat offenders and organised retail crime groups are causing the most damage, with ten per cent of offenders causing at least 60 per cent of the problems.”
According to Rodwell, responsible adoption of technology solutions in retail settings is another part of the solution, adding that technology like body-worn cameras and facial recognition technology have been highly effective in retail locations around the worl