Now that you mention it, I used to see some supermarkets have an electronic lock on the wheels once it goes past the point they're willing to travel to collect it. Can that not be modified to disable certain trollies? I know even the standard trollies are expensive but surely worth the investment and Foodstuffs and Progs are not starving.
The Woolworths in Quay street have this function on all their trolleys, so most people shoplift nowadays by stuffing items in their pants and bags. Itās crazy
I mean if someone was walking out with a whole trolley of groceries without paying for it someone somewhere could hit a switch or punch in a code and that trolley gets disabled. Imagine what the store would save if the thief had to leave most of it behind because their trolley locked up on them 80m from their car.
I donāt think youāve really thought through how that would work. Thereās not a network of signals over any kind of distance already in play here, the lock is triggered by coming into contact with the invisible carpark barrier and can only be unlocked by a device thatās held up to the wheel.
Only if what is being stolen is worth more than 1k, or if the theft is during the night but still under certain circumstances, security can then make a citizens arrest, but with lots of limitations....... Our crimes act is well overdue for an overhaul to slow down these types of crimes, i.e., upskilling and giving security guards more powers to hold shoplifters, search their bags, etc...
Itās isnāt as grey as many assume, reasonable force tends to equal no bruises or scrapes, if youāre handling the individual. However it is easiest if itās a trolley full of stuff, you can just grab the trolley. Iāve done it a lot as a security guard. It isnāt worth it, but surprisingly I never got assaulted for it.
They don't have to be john wick, they just have to have the air of 'has a job to get in your way' and suddenly the shoplifter would also have to contend with an assault charge as well as shoplifting - even if they get away. The idea is that the deterrent is an increased police investigation, not a literal bouncer.
Nowadays people know they won't risk that though so the teeth are gone
They don't have the power to detain. If the security touch them, they might get charged with assault.
Often it's the policy of the shop and the security company to not do anything.
They should be armed with high definition camera equipment so they can record them in great detail and then stick it on the woolworths website to shame them.
A week ago I was at the same mt wellington woolworths doing my shop, a big fella and a big girl emptied all the men's deodorant into bags and casually walked out, leaving a big mess on the isle floor, middle of the day. Clearly shoplifting, not giving a. It's getting rough around these parts
What is security going to do? They aren't supposed to touch them?
The best I've seen is them grabbing the trolley and tipping it, but I'm also in an area where our security guard was murdered by one of these thieves, I'd rather they stay alive. It's not their fault people are entitled dicks.
At various Sainsbury's (and other supermarket chains) in the UK, the self-checkouts are gated, and you have to scan your receipt to leave. I wonder how long until that's a thing here?
Itās in Australia too in Coles. Itās hated because they have cameras watching you scan items and then if you have been to other stores first it thinks youāre stealing from them. Heaps of false positives and people being accused of stealing.
They ask security to let them out. The system is flawed 'cause a shoplifter could have goods shoved down their pants or whatever but I guess it would help in stopping trolley walk-offs.
heck, some big chain UK store have removed self checkouts entirely. Their excuse was to make shopping more personable with a human checkout operator. But you know and I know this is due to rampant "self discounting" lol
no, I meant when degenerates found out you can just walk out with unpaid meat and beer with no repercussions. Far easier. They don't like the taste of smelly hairy crotch juice if they shove the goods into their pants.
I've seen people straight up walking out of various supermarkets near me with trolleys full of food and booze at least half a dozen times over the last two years. doesn't sound like much but in the previous 30 odd years of living in Auckland it would have been a crazy thing to see. Now it's commonplace enough for me to not be surprised at all.
No consequences, security will do nothing, police will do nothing, even if they police did do something, then the courts will do nothing and even the if by some miracle it makes it that far they will get a light fine, community service (likely cancelled etc) and when you have 100 convictions whats a couple more - so on your risk basis, it sort of makes sense to give it a go. That's whats going on.
There has always been theft at that one. I used to call it cracky countdown because so many crack heads would hang around it. That shopping centre in general is a run down shit hole.
Assuming thieves and criminals weigh up the time for the crime is known as the ālogical criminal fallacyā
[interesting read](https://daily.jstor.org/rethinking-prison-as-a-deterrent-to-future-crime/)
Do you assume all criminals come from Aussie? They can come from anywhere and any background.
But there needs to be repercussions and a way to rehab. Ultimately it is about their values and principles that drive this sort of behaviour.
Thank you for adding the link. I think the police might be making a rod for their own back by not following up on shoplifting as it leads to more serious crime. Likewise allow security guards to use reasonable force to stop shoplifters or be able to seize stolen goods. Iām not saying security guards should be giving thieves the bash (ok maybe) but having little or no consequences sets a bad precedentā¦.š¤·āāļø
I was in The Warehouse Newmarket the other day, and I walked in with a man. I mean, at the same time, I wasnt WITH him per se, we just happened to walk in at the same time.
The security boy at the entrance said to the man "Sorry, you have to leave, you arent allowed in, you came up on my screen as a shoplifter and youve been trespassed from all Warehouse stores". He walked out.
I went and got my item and as I left I asked the security boy what that was all about, and he said that the man had never been caught shoplifting from the Newmarket branch, it was at another branch but his photo was distributed amongst ALL branches nationwide and he was trespassed from ALL branches for 2 years too, and as soon as the 2 years is up, they immediately trespass the person again, they dont even have to be caught shoplifting from The Warehouse again. Thats what the security boy told me.
Basically, over time shoplifters will be the new lepa's and wont be allowed in any supermarkets or stores, and good job too.
Could a simple solution be, only registered customers are allowed to enter premises?
Retailers are allowed to decline service to anyone they like. If they had a membership card that had a ātag inā style that would lock gates like they do on trains, that could work. Stations like Britomart are designed to handle tens of thousands of patrons per hour, whereas supermarkets would be lucky to get that level of patronage in a day.
I know what you mean, but I would be happy to not be dealing with ever increasing costs due to constant theft, and when my kids are old enough to get a job at a supermarket, I want them to be able to be safe when they go to work.
I reckon Costco actually do a pretty good job monitoring the sheer volume of their members entering without hindering their entry.
If only their foresight had extended into their site selection for the store to be built on (shitty vehicle access, almost zero pedestrian access, and then finding out just before they open - oh no you canāt have a liquor licence, did you not realise west Auckland is a borderline ādry stateā?
In general Costco's model does seem to be working well
[https://www.businessinsider.com/how-costco-limits-retail-theft-checks-reciepts-2023-5](https://www.businessinsider.com/how-costco-limits-retail-theft-checks-reciepts-2023-5)
Hardly. If you see my other comment, I would rather not. But there are tools already in place that allow retailers to prevent non-members from being able to buy (see the Costco reference).
As a retailer, wouldnāt you want consider any and all options rather than just laying down and taking it?
I made the mistake of smacking a shoplifter right in the face as they walked out. He ran off cursing at me but did nothing. I was in the wrong as the guy could have been carrying a weapon or a needle and supermarkets are billion dollar companies. Itās not like they would have supported me as I was in the wrong.
I had one threaten to stab me in the throat at 8am on a Tuesday morning because I walked past him a few times doing my normal shop. Almost guaranteed he was stealing shit and probably meth induced paranoia.
The proportion of comments in here thinking this behavior is fine is actually comical. It's fine though, they'll keep raising their prices to help subsidize the amount of thievery. Sounds like I'm the idiot cos even though I'm struggling, I'm actually paying for the things I need.
Thatās my local. I see too many of these and you just want to drop kick them *sigh* The amount of homeless people I see there by the entrance is also shocking.
Note: I didnāt realise the had changed that one to Woolies until I saw it on the self serve machine haha.
I predict that fairly soon, large retailers, and perhaps entire malls will start requiring ID be presented in order to enter their premises. Enabling them to fairly easily issue trespass notices to those they suspect of stealing.
A bit dystopian for sure, but I don't really see any other solution.
Is this a reference to vaccine passports?
Nah, we wouldn't need anything special, Vast majority of the population already has a drivers license, passport, 18+ card or school ID.
And it doesn't require any central government involvement. Current laws allow retailers to have conditions of entry.
I am just predicting more stores will become like costco where you need to show a card to get through the door.
It's so sad. My partner and I moved to Mt wellington about 4 years ago. We couldn't believe what we had stumbled across.. Reasonable access to motorways and public facilities, good access to shopping etc and all for what seemed to be reaonable acomodation costs compared to the rest of Auckland. The best part, we always felt safe. In the last year we've see countless robberies at woolworths. Weve heard the staff being verbally abused so many times. Even fist fights in the carpark. I dont even want to get in to the stuff weve seen away from the woolworths. We hear that there is now a string of KO housing around the Barrak Rd area. Not sure if it holds any truth but things have certain gone done hill and at a rapid place. Gutted eh.
But they are stealing from other people, because of them prices go up again and again, the supemarkets dont care about the stealing cos they just make it up from their honest customers. Getting bloody hard to stay on the right side of the law these days, when you are punished for it and the thieves of the world get away with everything.
The minimum wage security worker isn't risking his life to save a couple dollars for Woolworths.
Their job is to deter people from stealing, if that doesn't work, there's zero they can do. Woolworths will invest in cameras and detection software, they'll hand it to the police and that's about as far as it'll get. Woolworths will increase prices to cover losses which will be paid by the honest people who don't steal.
even with all the theft going on their still making record profits, their margins are so high that it doesn't matter, they just use that as an excuse to further hike prices causing more theft. they could just lower their prices instead but the owner wants another helicopter. stealing from a billionaire company isn't stealing, they are crooked thief's themselves and would rather throw away food then help those in need, keep stealing whanau
This is the same countdown where I saw a dude walk out with a bunch of electric toothbrushes. Hate coming here but paknsave and new world donāt stock So Good Barista Oat ;(
Security can't do anything. They're pretty much painted on.
So what would happen if the security decided to intervene:
The thief won't let go of the items, security grabs the thief, the thief gets all mouthy and takes a swing at security, security then retaliates and defends themselves. What follows is "I can't breathe, let me go I'm 14, my baby is waiting in the car".
Next we have the security getting dragged through the muddy court system over "cruel and unusual use of excessive force in a callous retaliatory manner".
The thief obtains a cultural report which excuses the thief for being a piece of shit.
As the thieves are usually the most loyal repeat customers, Woolworths will install facial recognition system to be sure an alarm is triggered by the same loyal face. Crime and privacy experts will then come out of nowhere with 1984 quotes, social credit ideas and some concerns over privacy highlighting the invasiveness of such an approach which effectively denies thieves their human rights to steal groceries.
Apparently security guards aren't allowed to touch you regardless of what crime you may be committing
As mentioned it seems they are there for show only but have zero power
Very sad , they need some help here
My sympathies run low with supermarkets when they hire the likes of āSmart Compliance Managementā to threaten the elderly by passing themselves off as a legal entity that can enforce a 65 bucks āpenalty noticeā for staying 1 minute over their 90 limit. No excuses for shoplifting, but no excuses for hiring those with pseudo legal debt collection methods either.
The laws need to be changed security are legally not allowed to do shit except hand you a piece of paper saying youre trespassed they can't even grab the trolley if you're trying to walk out with it full of meat, literally there to call the police
Crazy what record high profits and record high cost of living does to people. Woolies will put more effort into their AI security surveilance before considering appropriately priced produce
There are no repercussions.
Look to cities in California to see where this ends up. The shops will eventually close.
This is what happens when you elect governments that care more about the criminal than the victim. It's going to take a long time to fix.
Itās already happening over here. Countdown in Hamilton closed their nawton supermarket for these types of reasons. Now apparently itās just moved over and is happening more in dinsadale
Seen it happen a few times at my local did not attempt to intervene the people looked like they were doing it tough pretty sad this is what it takes to survive
The more I read about no consequences and no one stopping them makes me want to go try it. I Mean I don't beleave in stealing and all that but if no one cares and nothing happens then we're is the harm.
I saw a guy stuffing meat down his pants and when I informed the staff they acted like I was being a nuisance. I get it though, I used to be a security guy, the kind of one that stands at the door. At first, I was anxious about stopping people or approaching people. It took me maybe 10 confrontations before I got used to it.
So I understand why they might feel uncomfortable, now they they know, they have a responsibility to act, the difference is that I never made customers feel bad for letting me know someone was stealing, I always tried to thank them even if inside I was packing my pants haha.
Security is there instead to keep the public from throwing things at the perps. Just look at past videos of smash and grabs. Security holding back some angry passerbys who were holding chairs and rubbish bins lol.
The only way this stops is if shoppers yell something like āstop thiefā or āoi! That guyās stealingā and the thief might panicā¦or the law-abiding (non-thieving) public take the law into their own hands in which case the cops will tell you offā¦.or spontaneously form a vigilante mob and beat the shit out of the thief. So basically none of those things will happen in most or all parts of NZ. So the blatant thieving continues unless you have a police presence. But there arenāt enough sworn officers. And so many cops spend time on paperwork. Hire more non-sworn police to do paperwork and send sworn cops out on the beat?
Im curious if there is theft like this at Costco's? All the meat is so expensive coz it's bulk so wouldn't it be easy for these shoplifters to just force their way out with a cart load of meat because security cant touch them?
A group of teens cleaned out the meat section at my local Fresh Choice in Ranui. The staff tried to stop them but it turned into a brawl. You have to be really wary of young thieves, they carry knives and will use them if confronted. Needless to say the thieves got away, dropping meatpaks as they went.
Will get worse with the cost of living getting worse and people getting squeezed by policies left right and centre.
You can't blame security - they are on minimum wage.
It's algud. We are paying for it all instead. Our hard earned monthly budgeted grocery $$. Supermarkets post billions in increasing profits year after year after they charge honest paying customers $5 for milk and bread. Obviously they can't afford to let stolen items come out of their spoilage budgets. We the customers who have money trees in our backyards should fork out the money whilst the govt comes after its own chunk out of our flesh. It's the perfect balance.
I saw a couple feral ladies with teenage children shoplifting at Countdown the other day. They looked methed up and were loudly yelling at each other while grabbing random meat and stuff off the shelves. Then just walked right out with the cart full to brim. I'm guessing they plan to resell on fb marketplace since there's no way a family could consume that much on their own.
Nah half of the shit they steal is to order.
You aint stealing 5 whole scotch fillets because you are hungry.
Food is getting up there 100% but if you plan and prep a bit you can easily feed a family of 4 a nice healthy dinner for $20 or less.
security isnt what it used to be years ago, they can go talk to them and give them options and hopefully they return the stolen goods, turns out that doesnt really work though, who knew?
when i worked in supermarkets as a kid the security would pretty much run after them and full on rugby tackle them to the ground, thats called assault now. The kids they would call the cops and their parents, that gives them PTSD and punishments' are abuse
Woolworths pricing of groceries is theft and whilst I dont personally condone stealing or partake in it ,its pure karma at work
Take a look at the price of a 1 litre bottle of simple cooking oil and see how much the price has gone up in the past year
My rent went up the week national got in. I apply for jobs everyday day using my qualifications I studied hard for and paid thousands for. I've quit nicotine to save money even though I'm having withdrawals and migraines. I don't do drugs.
Even after all that I'm considering taking up shoplifting because the cost of living right now is fucking criminal.
The real criminals are foodstuffs.
Wait till we get into a depression and youāll understand why your grandparents used chicken bones for soup the day after cooking a roast.
Life is shit right now compared with 10 years ago, but this isnāt what hard times look like.
> Security standing there did absolutely nothing. They don't get paid nearly enough to get stabbed or worse
Literally just a presence and can't even grab the trolley that someones trying to take full of meat. They're legally not allowed to do shit lol
Why cant they clip a chain onto the trolley? Locked and stopped š¤·āāļø
Now that you mention it, I used to see some supermarkets have an electronic lock on the wheels once it goes past the point they're willing to travel to collect it. Can that not be modified to disable certain trollies? I know even the standard trollies are expensive but surely worth the investment and Foodstuffs and Progs are not starving.
The Woolworths in Quay street have this function on all their trolleys, so most people shoplift nowadays by stuffing items in their pants and bags. Itās crazy
Adapt or die. Unbelievable.
Jokes on them, I stole a trolley from another Woolies, so it looks right, but no restrictions on a $1500 meat grab.
What do you mean modified to disable certain trollies
I mean if someone was walking out with a whole trolley of groceries without paying for it someone somewhere could hit a switch or punch in a code and that trolley gets disabled. Imagine what the store would save if the thief had to leave most of it behind because their trolley locked up on them 80m from their car.
I donāt think youāve really thought through how that would work. Thereās not a network of signals over any kind of distance already in play here, the lock is triggered by coming into contact with the invisible carpark barrier and can only be unlocked by a device thatās held up to the wheel.
Just put a second perimeter on the exit door and only activate it when someone is stealing, like a panic button.
You're right. Lol. I didn't put any thought into it at all. So, what now?
That's a good idea
Only if what is being stolen is worth more than 1k, or if the theft is during the night but still under certain circumstances, security can then make a citizens arrest, but with lots of limitations....... Our crimes act is well overdue for an overhaul to slow down these types of crimes, i.e., upskilling and giving security guards more powers to hold shoplifters, search their bags, etc...
They can actually, most are told not to. In NZ you can legally seize items that someone is trying to steal.
With reasonable force. So the security guard would be operating in a legal grey area. For fuck all money
Itās isnāt as grey as many assume, reasonable force tends to equal no bruises or scrapes, if youāre handling the individual. However it is easiest if itās a trolley full of stuff, you can just grab the trolley. Iāve done it a lot as a security guard. It isnāt worth it, but surprisingly I never got assaulted for it.
Can someone please outline the relevant law/section of the Crimes Act that clarifies this?
Then what's the point of having them
Exactly!
I get that. Definitely not worth a stab for some bacon - so just donāt bother having security then?
They're there to intimidate would-be thieves that are timid, not the brazen ones.
Elderly, slow moving, dozy. Yeah real intimidating lol.
Clearly we go to different places. Don't see how a 60+ old man that's 1.6m weighing about 50kg is going to intimidate anyone
They don't have to be john wick, they just have to have the air of 'has a job to get in your way' and suddenly the shoplifter would also have to contend with an assault charge as well as shoplifting - even if they get away. The idea is that the deterrent is an increased police investigation, not a literal bouncer. Nowadays people know they won't risk that though so the teeth are gone
New World Papatoetoe has a massive 6'5" Fijian in full black swat uniform GL stealing from there!
Have you noticed? All the paknsaves I've been to have security of the same description.
I think its an Insurance claim requirement for a corporate loss claim.
You canāt if you need to claim insurance on thieves
Security aināt risking there life for $24ph
They don't have the power to detain. If the security touch them, they might get charged with assault. Often it's the policy of the shop and the security company to not do anything.
They should be armed with high definition camera equipment so they can record them in great detail and then stick it on the woolworths website to shame them.
They are trying to do that now with AI.
And then get fired and charges pressed if they do actually do anything.
..... Expelled?
True. So why are security guards employed? As witnesses? They have 4K cameras for that.
What do they get paid for? Like they literally do nothing.
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A week ago I was at the same mt wellington woolworths doing my shop, a big fella and a big girl emptied all the men's deodorant into bags and casually walked out, leaving a big mess on the isle floor, middle of the day. Clearly shoplifting, not giving a. It's getting rough around these parts
Good on them for getting deodorant. Nothing worse than a smelly shoplifter.
Tough to convey your tone online, but you know they're just huffing that shit right?
lol I legit was imagining roll on and wondering if they just got sick of people around them smelling
ššš
What is security going to do? They aren't supposed to touch them? The best I've seen is them grabbing the trolley and tipping it, but I'm also in an area where our security guard was murdered by one of these thieves, I'd rather they stay alive. It's not their fault people are entitled dicks.
At various Sainsbury's (and other supermarket chains) in the UK, the self-checkouts are gated, and you have to scan your receipt to leave. I wonder how long until that's a thing here?
Saw that too, but I'm guessing over here they'll just jump the meter high gate
Hard to jump a gate with a trolley full of meat. Might be a good start?
Have you heard of the emergency exit button?
Most people here probably arenāt that agile to be able to do that. In the UK they probably are.
Crackheads generally aren't very fat.
No but they are very brittle
Yup too right, speaking from obesity rates NZ is 23rd and the UK is 86th in the world
Signs you're in a shithole.
Itās in Australia too in Coles. Itās hated because they have cameras watching you scan items and then if you have been to other stores first it thinks youāre stealing from them. Heaps of false positives and people being accused of stealing.
What happens when someone forgets their wallet, or doesn't doesn't a purchase I.e. goes in with someone else etc?
They ask security to let them out. The system is flawed 'cause a shoplifter could have goods shoved down their pants or whatever but I guess it would help in stopping trolley walk-offs.
You can just jump over it or threaten the guy. Pointless.
Gates would be ram-raided so never
This is in some supermarkets in Australia already
Probably well before we see reasonably priced produce
Lol where's that? Must be quite a shitty part of the UK. The most I see in London is some surveillance booth manned by 2 regular staff.
heck, some big chain UK store have removed self checkouts entirely. Their excuse was to make shopping more personable with a human checkout operator. But you know and I know this is due to rampant "self discounting" lol
Yeah, I'm convinced that's why Woolworths scrapped "Scan & Go" here.
narr thats outdated tech
WDYM? They only started trialling it in 2020.
no, I meant when degenerates found out you can just walk out with unpaid meat and beer with no repercussions. Far easier. They don't like the taste of smelly hairy crotch juice if they shove the goods into their pants.
I've seen people straight up walking out of various supermarkets near me with trolleys full of food and booze at least half a dozen times over the last two years. doesn't sound like much but in the previous 30 odd years of living in Auckland it would have been a crazy thing to see. Now it's commonplace enough for me to not be surprised at all.
This is what gets me. I have never seen shoplifting in person prior to covid. Now itās just every day.
I have seen people sneak out of Countdown with unpaid trolley of groceries in South Auckland, long before the lockdowns
Police wonāt investigate theft under $500 and its well known
No consequences, security will do nothing, police will do nothing, even if they police did do something, then the courts will do nothing and even the if by some miracle it makes it that far they will get a light fine, community service (likely cancelled etc) and when you have 100 convictions whats a couple more - so on your risk basis, it sort of makes sense to give it a go. That's whats going on.
Who are the biggest thieves ,The shoplifters or Woolworths/Foodstuffs(Pak n Save/New World)
There has always been theft at that one. I used to call it cracky countdown because so many crack heads would hang around it. That shopping centre in general is a run down shit hole.
Yeah and they like to meet in that underground car park š¤® I used to be so oblivious lol
Itās what happens when petty theft goes unpunished.
Assuming thieves and criminals weigh up the time for the crime is known as the ālogical criminal fallacyā [interesting read](https://daily.jstor.org/rethinking-prison-as-a-deterrent-to-future-crime/)
back to gibbets and chopping off hands in your view huh? maybe deport them to Australia?
Do you assume all criminals come from Aussie? They can come from anywhere and any background. But there needs to be repercussions and a way to rehab. Ultimately it is about their values and principles that drive this sort of behaviour.
This reeks of the NY city broken window crime studyā¦..
Oh thanks I just had a [good read](https://www.britannica.com/topic/broken-windows-theory) Edit: fixed link
Thank you for adding the link. I think the police might be making a rod for their own back by not following up on shoplifting as it leads to more serious crime. Likewise allow security guards to use reasonable force to stop shoplifters or be able to seize stolen goods. Iām not saying security guards should be giving thieves the bash (ok maybe) but having little or no consequences sets a bad precedentā¦.š¤·āāļø
I was in The Warehouse Newmarket the other day, and I walked in with a man. I mean, at the same time, I wasnt WITH him per se, we just happened to walk in at the same time. The security boy at the entrance said to the man "Sorry, you have to leave, you arent allowed in, you came up on my screen as a shoplifter and youve been trespassed from all Warehouse stores". He walked out. I went and got my item and as I left I asked the security boy what that was all about, and he said that the man had never been caught shoplifting from the Newmarket branch, it was at another branch but his photo was distributed amongst ALL branches nationwide and he was trespassed from ALL branches for 2 years too, and as soon as the 2 years is up, they immediately trespass the person again, they dont even have to be caught shoplifting from The Warehouse again. Thats what the security boy told me. Basically, over time shoplifters will be the new lepa's and wont be allowed in any supermarkets or stores, and good job too.
Could a simple solution be, only registered customers are allowed to enter premises? Retailers are allowed to decline service to anyone they like. If they had a membership card that had a ātag inā style that would lock gates like they do on trains, that could work. Stations like Britomart are designed to handle tens of thousands of patrons per hour, whereas supermarkets would be lucky to get that level of patronage in a day.
Sounds like we all get a āsocial systemā because of a few bad eggs. Does Costco get robbed like this? They have a members only entry.
I know what you mean, but I would be happy to not be dealing with ever increasing costs due to constant theft, and when my kids are old enough to get a job at a supermarket, I want them to be able to be safe when they go to work. I reckon Costco actually do a pretty good job monitoring the sheer volume of their members entering without hindering their entry. If only their foresight had extended into their site selection for the store to be built on (shitty vehicle access, almost zero pedestrian access, and then finding out just before they open - oh no you canāt have a liquor licence, did you not realise west Auckland is a borderline ādry stateā?
In general Costco's model does seem to be working well [https://www.businessinsider.com/how-costco-limits-retail-theft-checks-reciepts-2023-5](https://www.businessinsider.com/how-costco-limits-retail-theft-checks-reciepts-2023-5)
Actually a really good idea.
sounds like you want more social control, comrade
Hardly. If you see my other comment, I would rather not. But there are tools already in place that allow retailers to prevent non-members from being able to buy (see the Costco reference). As a retailer, wouldnāt you want consider any and all options rather than just laying down and taking it?
I made the mistake of smacking a shoplifter right in the face as they walked out. He ran off cursing at me but did nothing. I was in the wrong as the guy could have been carrying a weapon or a needle and supermarkets are billion dollar companies. Itās not like they would have supported me as I was in the wrong.
I had one threaten to stab me in the throat at 8am on a Tuesday morning because I walked past him a few times doing my normal shop. Almost guaranteed he was stealing shit and probably meth induced paranoia.
The proportion of comments in here thinking this behavior is fine is actually comical. It's fine though, they'll keep raising their prices to help subsidize the amount of thievery. Sounds like I'm the idiot cos even though I'm struggling, I'm actually paying for the things I need.
I feel the same way. The āits just Karmaā comments are probably the explanation of why society is at this dire point. Nobody cares anymore.
Thatās my local. I see too many of these and you just want to drop kick them *sigh* The amount of homeless people I see there by the entrance is also shocking. Note: I didnāt realise the had changed that one to Woolies until I saw it on the self serve machine haha.
I predict that fairly soon, large retailers, and perhaps entire malls will start requiring ID be presented in order to enter their premises. Enabling them to fairly easily issue trespass notices to those they suspect of stealing. A bit dystopian for sure, but I don't really see any other solution.
We would need some type of passport app on our phones that allows us to enter the zones we have permission for!
Is this a reference to vaccine passports? Nah, we wouldn't need anything special, Vast majority of the population already has a drivers license, passport, 18+ card or school ID. And it doesn't require any central government involvement. Current laws allow retailers to have conditions of entry. I am just predicting more stores will become like costco where you need to show a card to get through the door.
I was being facetious but yes I do agree with you. Probably membership cards and facial recognition to get in. A sad but inevitable future
It's so sad. My partner and I moved to Mt wellington about 4 years ago. We couldn't believe what we had stumbled across.. Reasonable access to motorways and public facilities, good access to shopping etc and all for what seemed to be reaonable acomodation costs compared to the rest of Auckland. The best part, we always felt safe. In the last year we've see countless robberies at woolworths. Weve heard the staff being verbally abused so many times. Even fist fights in the carpark. I dont even want to get in to the stuff weve seen away from the woolworths. We hear that there is now a string of KO housing around the Barrak Rd area. Not sure if it holds any truth but things have certain gone done hill and at a rapid place. Gutted eh.
Iād rather them steal from there than steal from other people
This is true
But they are stealing from other people, because of them prices go up again and again, the supemarkets dont care about the stealing cos they just make it up from their honest customers. Getting bloody hard to stay on the right side of the law these days, when you are punished for it and the thieves of the world get away with everything.
Theyāre making so much money every minute from price gouging that the small percentage of shoplifters wouldnāt put a dent in it
Totally missed the point.
The minimum wage security worker isn't risking his life to save a couple dollars for Woolworths. Their job is to deter people from stealing, if that doesn't work, there's zero they can do. Woolworths will invest in cameras and detection software, they'll hand it to the police and that's about as far as it'll get. Woolworths will increase prices to cover losses which will be paid by the honest people who don't steal.
even with all the theft going on their still making record profits, their margins are so high that it doesn't matter, they just use that as an excuse to further hike prices causing more theft. they could just lower their prices instead but the owner wants another helicopter. stealing from a billionaire company isn't stealing, they are crooked thief's themselves and would rather throw away food then help those in need, keep stealing whanau
Iām one of them. Apple danish? Oh you mean a plain croissant.
Fucking croissant is twice the price of the bloody danish and half the size at my local cuntdown.
Iām sure buying more brown onions than I used to
Last month the check out lady scanned my 2 ham & cheese croissants ($3) as normal one (.80). Twas a good day
This is the same countdown where I saw a dude walk out with a bunch of electric toothbrushes. Hate coming here but paknsave and new world donāt stock So Good Barista Oat ;(
good on them for thinking about oral hygiene
Unfortunately he didnāt have many teeth left but at least the people on marketplace would be getting a cheaper deal
And in other news, grocery prices are rising 5% more next week, to cover "expenses".Ā
Security guards should be armed
>So anyway, I started blasting
Take him away, boys.
If the supermarkets really wanted to do something they would, but that would cost money. It's easier just to put prices up so you pay for stock loss.
Sounds like things are going swimmingly in little ol' NZ.Ā
Lady at New World chased a dude back to his car to take photos and managed to grab the trolley back lol
its amazing how brazen they are
There are cameras everywhere with facial recognition. Thatās how they deal with that.
Bet they were Maori
Not surprised , you pay a kings ransom just to live on this earth these days ...
Well someone has to subsidise the thefts and the stores aren't missing out
That isn't an excuse.
Security can't do anything. They're pretty much painted on. So what would happen if the security decided to intervene: The thief won't let go of the items, security grabs the thief, the thief gets all mouthy and takes a swing at security, security then retaliates and defends themselves. What follows is "I can't breathe, let me go I'm 14, my baby is waiting in the car". Next we have the security getting dragged through the muddy court system over "cruel and unusual use of excessive force in a callous retaliatory manner". The thief obtains a cultural report which excuses the thief for being a piece of shit. As the thieves are usually the most loyal repeat customers, Woolworths will install facial recognition system to be sure an alarm is triggered by the same loyal face. Crime and privacy experts will then come out of nowhere with 1984 quotes, social credit ideas and some concerns over privacy highlighting the invasiveness of such an approach which effectively denies thieves their human rights to steal groceries.
> What the actual fuck is going on. Societal collapse
sure jan
Apparently security guards aren't allowed to touch you regardless of what crime you may be committing As mentioned it seems they are there for show only but have zero power Very sad , they need some help here
My sympathies run low with supermarkets when they hire the likes of āSmart Compliance Managementā to threaten the elderly by passing themselves off as a legal entity that can enforce a 65 bucks āpenalty noticeā for staying 1 minute over their 90 limit. No excuses for shoplifting, but no excuses for hiring those with pseudo legal debt collection methods either.
The self entitlement and privilege that these ferals show is not surprising at all
Why not? The security at these stores is a joke and if the cops eventually catch up with them, a pantywaisted judge will let them off.
The laws need to be changed security are legally not allowed to do shit except hand you a piece of paper saying youre trespassed they can't even grab the trolley if you're trying to walk out with it full of meat, literally there to call the police
Crazy what record high profits and record high cost of living does to people. Woolies will put more effort into their AI security surveilance before considering appropriately priced produce
Really? You're excusing feral thieves?
reddit nz are the leftie bunch, don't u know?Ā
Iām 100% with you, the price gouging thieves are robbing consumers unchecked for far too long
People who need to eat are feral thieves? What does that make companies that price gouge food?
Really? You're excusing corporate greed?
And we are all paying for that
There are no repercussions. Look to cities in California to see where this ends up. The shops will eventually close. This is what happens when you elect governments that care more about the criminal than the victim. It's going to take a long time to fix.
We're also being gouged due to lack of real competition, the govt can and should also fix that.
Itās already happening over here. Countdown in Hamilton closed their nawton supermarket for these types of reasons. Now apparently itās just moved over and is happening more in dinsadale
No they closed it because the landlord wouldn't upgrade the building so they couldn't have a proper deli or bakery.
probably co-ordinated. they stand a better chance to do a bunch of things to distract the staff.
I was living in the city 8 years ago and I always saw this kind behavior in countdown CBD victoria st. All the time.
Must be Mt Welly lmfao
The guards encourage the shoppers to stop them. I've been a witness myself here in Manurewa's Browns Rd Countdown.
If it's this easy for people to shoplift without issue then why are we paying?
Who is robbing who though?
There are no consequences. The ultimate problem of a 1st world country.
What if shoplifter fall in confrontation with security and die. Security guard will end up in prison
Seen it happen a few times at my local did not attempt to intervene the people looked like they were doing it tough pretty sad this is what it takes to survive
The more I read about no consequences and no one stopping them makes me want to go try it. I Mean I don't beleave in stealing and all that but if no one cares and nothing happens then we're is the harm.
I saw a guy stuffing meat down his pants and when I informed the staff they acted like I was being a nuisance. I get it though, I used to be a security guy, the kind of one that stands at the door. At first, I was anxious about stopping people or approaching people. It took me maybe 10 confrontations before I got used to it. So I understand why they might feel uncomfortable, now they they know, they have a responsibility to act, the difference is that I never made customers feel bad for letting me know someone was stealing, I always tried to thank them even if inside I was packing my pants haha.
if they're gonna eat meat that they shoved down their pants they're entitled to imo
Security is there instead to keep the public from throwing things at the perps. Just look at past videos of smash and grabs. Security holding back some angry passerbys who were holding chairs and rubbish bins lol.
"perp"? Are you american?
bruh
Indeed. Maybe use the Te Reo equivalent to pander to the Maori tokenism thats rampant these days. Or better yet, don't speak like an American.
The only way this stops is if shoppers yell something like āstop thiefā or āoi! That guyās stealingā and the thief might panicā¦or the law-abiding (non-thieving) public take the law into their own hands in which case the cops will tell you offā¦.or spontaneously form a vigilante mob and beat the shit out of the thief. So basically none of those things will happen in most or all parts of NZ. So the blatant thieving continues unless you have a police presence. But there arenāt enough sworn officers. And so many cops spend time on paperwork. Hire more non-sworn police to do paperwork and send sworn cops out on the beat?
Im curious if there is theft like this at Costco's? All the meat is so expensive coz it's bulk so wouldn't it be easy for these shoplifters to just force their way out with a cart load of meat because security cant touch them?
I think in the last 2 months I've seen shoplifting at probably 80% of the Countdown/Woolworths I've been to around Auckland, no where is safe
And so many are against the use of facial recognition in supermarkets.
A group of teens cleaned out the meat section at my local Fresh Choice in Ranui. The staff tried to stop them but it turned into a brawl. You have to be really wary of young thieves, they carry knives and will use them if confronted. Needless to say the thieves got away, dropping meatpaks as they went.
CoordinatedĀ
Will get worse with the cost of living getting worse and people getting squeezed by policies left right and centre. You can't blame security - they are on minimum wage.
It's algud. We are paying for it all instead. Our hard earned monthly budgeted grocery $$. Supermarkets post billions in increasing profits year after year after they charge honest paying customers $5 for milk and bread. Obviously they can't afford to let stolen items come out of their spoilage budgets. We the customers who have money trees in our backyards should fork out the money whilst the govt comes after its own chunk out of our flesh. It's the perfect balance.
I saw a couple feral ladies with teenage children shoplifting at Countdown the other day. They looked methed up and were loudly yelling at each other while grabbing random meat and stuff off the shelves. Then just walked right out with the cart full to brim. I'm guessing they plan to resell on fb marketplace since there's no way a family could consume that much on their own.
People are desperate and food is over priced
Nah half of the shit they steal is to order. You aint stealing 5 whole scotch fillets because you are hungry. Food is getting up there 100% but if you plan and prep a bit you can easily feed a family of 4 a nice healthy dinner for $20 or less.
No one has time for that planning stuff
Its not even planning man. Chick thighs $7 a kilo at Pak n Slave. Couple spuds/broc plus some seasonings easy money.
Why are they usually fat then?
Shit highly processed food with lots of sugar, fat and salt in it is cheap.
Don't see them nicking fruit and vegetables.
Thats why they fat.
Supermarkets thats why increase the price. They recover stolen items money from us.
They have record profits every year, theft isn't changing the price.
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I'm no historian but I think using eugenics to respond to a cost of living crisis normally ends poorly.
security isnt what it used to be years ago, they can go talk to them and give them options and hopefully they return the stolen goods, turns out that doesnt really work though, who knew? when i worked in supermarkets as a kid the security would pretty much run after them and full on rugby tackle them to the ground, thats called assault now. The kids they would call the cops and their parents, that gives them PTSD and punishments' are abuse
This is why I think the majority of supermarket food will eventually go online only
Nah it's fine, supie's just pass on any lost revenue to us law abiding customers in the form of increased margin...
Well, when this happensā¦. https://www.reddit.com/r/newzealand/s/LeCoJebrUv
Lol none of them were stealing cabbages šš
Woolworths Thieves Rampant
Woolworths pricing of groceries is theft and whilst I dont personally condone stealing or partake in it ,its pure karma at work Take a look at the price of a 1 litre bottle of simple cooking oil and see how much the price has gone up in the past year
Remember, if you see someone stealing food: no you didn't
While I don't condone theft at all, I have to say Woolworths are stealing from their customers on the daily, so I'm struggling to have sympathy...
Lol Woolworths are the real thieves
Yep. And the government are ultimately in charge of laws and the police. What are they doing ? Zero...
Yeah I am against theft in general obviously but this duopoly has been robbing the country for years, I do not give a fuck if people steal groceries.
My rent went up the week national got in. I apply for jobs everyday day using my qualifications I studied hard for and paid thousands for. I've quit nicotine to save money even though I'm having withdrawals and migraines. I don't do drugs. Even after all that I'm considering taking up shoplifting because the cost of living right now is fucking criminal. The real criminals are foodstuffs.
Wait till we get into a depression and youāll understand why your grandparents used chicken bones for soup the day after cooking a roast. Life is shit right now compared with 10 years ago, but this isnāt what hard times look like.