“Ten years ago, people who were stealing were hiding products in their jackets or down their pants. These days they’re filling up a trolley and pushing it back out the front door and they don’t care who sees them.”

Cost-of-Living Stress Fuels Crime Wave in Australia, New Zealand

(Bloomberg) — A man strolls out of a New Zealand supermarket carrying bags stuffed with nine stolen legs of lamb. Another pushes out a shopping cart stacked with NZ$1,500 ($896) of pilfered corned beef and mayonnaise. Yet another smashes a security guard in the face with a bottle of milk before making off with a basket of goods.

None attempt to disguise their theft.

The men, featured in security footage released last month by Foodstuffs North Island, which is part of the nation’s largest grocery chain, are emblematic of the escalating retail crime wave sweeping through the country and neighboring Australia. The theft is brazen, organized, increasingly violent and is costing the two nations an estimated A$10 billion ($6.4 billion) a year combined, according to retail groups.

…

“Ten years ago, people who were stealing were hiding products in their jackets or down their pants,” said Auror’s Thomson, estimating organized criminals can target up to 10 stores a day. “These days they’re filling up a trolley and pushing it back out the front door and they don’t care who sees them.”

h/t mark000