A campaign by Crimes Stopper Australia (CSA) is being run for free across more than 100 shopping centres, in collaboration with the Shopping Centre Council of Australia.
This comes amid a surge in retail crime in recent months, including surges in store theft across the states of Victoria and Tasmania.
The national awareness campaign is aimed at encouraging Australians to be vigilant and speak up about crime or suspicious activity observed within and around shopping centre environments.
From this week, Crime Stoppers messages, including the 1800 333 000 number, will appear across more than 2,000 digital screens in shopping centres across the country, with an estimated commercial advertising value of $5 million.
“Shopping centres are part of the heartbeat of our communities – and everyone who walks through their doors has the power to help keep them safe,” CSA chair Ian Stewart AO APM said.
“Increasing our presence in shopping centres will enable us to bring greater awareness to the importance of community intelligence and to encourage people to contact Crime Stoppers, even anonymously, if they feel uneasy or observe criminal behaviour in these environments.”
SCCA Members participating in the campaign include The GPT Group, Greenpool Capital, Hawaiian, Mirvac Group, QIC Global Real Estate, Scentre Group, Stocklands and Vicinity Centres.
The campaign will run in two bursts, starting in the Spring school holidays (September 8 – October 10 2025) and then the back-to-school period (January 1–30 , 2026).
SCCA executive director Angus Nardi said he and his team have a zero tolerance for crime within its members’ shopping centres.
“Our industry works very closely and collaboratively with law enforcement and government agencies and are supportive of initiatives to increase community safety, in shopping centres,” Nardi said.
“This campaign is about creating awareness on the importance of information sharing and empowering our community to speak up if they witness any criminal activity or anti-social behaviour in our centres.”
Alongside the digital messaging, there will be social media promotion and campaign support from Crime Stoppers jurisdictions across the country.
This move comes amid a surge in retail crime, particularly theft. 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).
The ABS reported 595,660 victims of theft nationally in 2024 – the highest number in 21 years and a 6 per cent increase on the previous year. Almost half of all theft incidents (45% or 268,666 cases) occurred in retail settings.
ARA CEO Chris Rodwell said this data paints an appalling picture of the state of retail crime across the country and the impact on innocent victims.
“These numbers reflect what retailers know too well. We are confronting a full-scale retail crime crisis,” he said. “The fear and reality of retail crime is experienced daily.
According to the ABS, thefts at retail locations rose from 32 per cent of all thefts in 2010 to 45 per cent in 2024, with the number of incidents at the highest recorded level in more than two decades.
“The number of incidents continues to surge,” Rodwell said. “In Victoria, the situation is particularly grim with a 29 per cent increase in theft in 2024.
“That's why we’re calling for urgent and decisive action from our political leaders – including Premiers, Police Ministers and Attorneys General - to address this scourge of retail crime. We’ve seen the results when this action has been taken.”
Rodwell said one particular solution is the introduction of workplace protection orders as an urgent priority, as seen in the Australian Capital Territory. He also noted tougher legislation in Victoria and other jurisdictions that, he said, are lagging behind best practice.
“The responsible adoption of technology solutions in retail settings is another part of the solution,” Rodwell said. “Innovations such as body worn cameras and facial recognition technology have been highly effective in retail locations around the world.”
Facial recognition technology has been trialled in the past in Australia, with community feedback noting privacy concerns.
In New Zealand, facial recognition was recently trialled by supermarket chain Foodstuffs’ North Island, with promising results.
“We need to act now,” Rodwell said. “There are far too many innocent victims – team members and customers – across the county. The financial impact on businesses is also unsustainable and ultimately adds to the price at the checkout.”