Editor’s Desk: Is banning unsupervised kids from shops a solution to our shoplifting crisis?

It’s a confronting reality we see at our local shops all too often.

It’s always happened, but anecdotally, it seems the rate of shoplifting is worsening in Geraldton.

In the past month I have nearly been bowled over by an older teenage boy running away from a security guard, as well as seeing two women laying into big burly security guards who wouldn’t let go of their shopping trolleys after they refused to stop and let them inspect their bags and trolleys. The guards ended up letting go. It’s almost like you expect to come across scenes like these when you venture in to the shops these days.

The discretionary ban imposed by Rigters Supermarket Group last week revealed by the Geraldton Guardian and generating national headlines — preventing unsupervised under-16s from entering their stores after 6pm — may seem radical to some, but it’s an example of how desperate the situation has become. As a business, they are entitled to do what they feel is necessary to protect their staff and trade.

Shoplifting is far from a victimless crime. Businesses lose money, possibly leading to higher prices for general customers, and children who start out stealing from supermarket shelves can often progress to more serious crime.

With Rigters’ three IGA stores and three bottle shops alone, they estimate they lose about $150,000 a year. They said children who used to steal a chocolate bar were now stealing a lot more and damaging property, and threatening and abusing staff if confronted.

It seems many people in the community, including leaders, are backing Rigters’ actions, and they should rightly be able to trade in peace. But where to from here? Are we going to see more businesses follow Rigters’ lead, so effectively children on their own can’t go anywhere at night?

What more can be done to address the root causes of this shoplifting scourge? Because clearly a reactionary approach and hauling kids in front of a magistrate isn’t working.

Police have increased their presence at shopping centres, but how long will they be able to do that for?

And we all need to remember this is not just a police problem. It’s a society problem. Police and other government agencies have a vital role to play. Rigters’ call for a retailers’ forum is a good idea and should be implemented, as better communication and putting heads together can never be a bad thing.

But as Premier Mark McGowan indicated when he backed Rigters’ ban when in Geraldton earlier this week, it’s also a “family” problem.

When we talk of parental and family responsibility, it’s a complex issue. Of course, parents and guardians should be doing all they can to control this kind of unruly and criminal behaviour. But what about the kids with no adult role models who get mixed up with the wrong crowd and have no one to steer them in the right direction?

I don’t know what the solution is, but I do know it’s a whole-of-community problem and preventative action is needed alongside reactionary measures. Because otherwise we’re doomed to see the problem only worsen in size and severity.