The Limestone Coast is experiencing a prevalence in shoplifting and theft in the region, despite a drop in reported numbers state-wide.


There was a 5% decrease from 18,422 to 17,436 reported offences in the state in January this year compared to last year.


SAPOL has attributed the decrease of almost 1000 reported offences to the sustained pressure being applied by both Operation Measure and proactive initiatives undertaken in individual policing districts targeting recidivist offenders.


While the number of reported offences state-wide have dropped, retailers in the Limestone Coast continue to be targeted by opportunistic thieves.


Limestone Coast Local Service Area Superintendent Cheryl Brown said supermarkets and liquor stores were among the most targeted shops in Mount Gambier.


“We are always very mindful of theft from our shops and we know there are some shops that probably have that slightly higher rate than other areas,” she said.


“We do know that some people will go in there and shoplift because they need to be able to feed themselves and their families, maybe because right at the moment the cost of living is a bit of a struggle.


“Then there are others that simply go in there as an opportunistic moment to load the shopping trolley up and wheel out with items to try and on-sell them.


“We do have programs for those types of shops to report which we can then follow up with them in that regard.”


Other theft, the category that includes fuel theft, recorded a 6% decline in South Australia in the January rolling period, a decrease of 1496 reported offences from 23,068 to 21,572.


“We know that some people will drive off and just inadvertently forget to go in and pay and we will often just give them a call and they will be very apologetic and then immediately make payment,” Superintendent Brown said.


“One of the things that people need to know is they have to deliberately choose to steal as opposed to accidentally and not realising they have not made payment.


“It is worth noting at service stations they are CCTV rich environments, it is very unlikely that if you do a petrol drive off that we will not know who you are.


“The Limestone Coast is an area where our crime rate is such that we can have that opportunity to go and follow up on crime.


“They (fuel thefts) will very often lead to us identifying stolen vehicles, we can then get an indication of persons of interest we may be looking for and it is a situation where one thing may lead to another.


“What we have done over the last couple of weeks is we have paid a considerable amount of attention to some certain individuals that we believed were responsible for a number of thefts and they have been arrested as a result.


“We often then know if we are on the right track in terms of then we see it trending downwards in terms of theft or other associated offending.”


Superintendent Brown said farm theft was common in the South East, with diesel most commonly targeted.


“Diesel theft off farms is a big priority and they can lose usually quite a lot in one hit so it is really important for people to report to us when they see someone hanging around or something unusual like a vehicle that does not belong, particularly in that rural farm theft area,” she said.


“You will know what vehicles you will regularly see in and around your property and if you are seeing someone that does not seem to fit then you need to report it immediately, particularly if you may have seen that vehicle or that person at a previous time when you have had thefts occur.


“Like any crime type we have the same repeat offenders and we like to be able to get on top of them very quickly.


“Everyone needs to understand that if theft happens they need to report it, if they see some suspicious behaviour they need to report it but also taking a level of ownership in terms of managing the security around their own items as well.


“If we can find someone before, we can prevent a crime from happening. Everyone can play their part in that crime prevention space.


“I think Mount Gambier is a wonderful place for everyone to live and with taking a few precautions on their own behalf it is somewhere where you can go about your life quite safely and happily, but people just need to have a little bit of awareness of what their own circumstances are and we are always here to help people when thevwy need it.”


Anyone with information about unsolved crime or suspicious activity can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 with the option to remain anonymous.