Police are beefing up their presence in Adelaide's city centre following a series of shoplifting incidents which has left businesses concerned for their safety and ability to operate.
In separate incidents in the city's busy Rundle Mall shopping precinct this week, a retail worker was hospitalised after being assaulted by a 15-year-old and two men armed with an axe shoplifted a sports store.
SA Police continue to investigate the axe incident and have asked anyone to come forward with leads.
As well as increased police patrols, SA Police held a regular meeting with local businesses on Thursday, offering crime prevention advice and giving them an opportunity to raise their concerns.
"There's no doubt the retail sector is facing really concerning problems right now with retail crime," Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association secretary Josh Peak told Adelaide radio station 5AA.
Mr Peak said the issue extended beyond the CBD, with shop owners and staff noticing an increase in threats and "brazen" shoplifting across the board.
"Not a week goes by where we don't hear about theft and violence occurring in our petrol stations," he said.
"So additional resources are certainly welcome and I think we also need to have a conversation about what kind of security measures shopping centres are providing and major shops are providing so that it's not workers that feel like they're having to run asset protection."
Police crime statistics show shop theft jumped by almost a third last year as cost-of-living pressures grew.
SA Police Minister Joe Szakacs said people were rightfully outraged about the "disgusting" assaults on workers who were simply going about their jobs.
"There is no place for disrespect, there's no place for harassment and there's absolutely no place for violence towards retail workers," he told reporters on Thursday.
"They do some of the toughest work that we see. They are there, as we've highlighted during times like pandemics, helping us."
A surge of police, including officers from the security response section and mounted and dog units, will provide a visible presence in Rundle Mall.
"And that's really to provide that strong community reassurance that we can offer a safe place for people to come, visit and shop," Assistant Commissioner Scott Duval said.
The increased police patrols have already had their intended effect, with officers arresting a 45-year-old man on Thursday morning for theft.
"That occurred as that man stole an item from a shop and the very quick engagement with the shop owners was able to quickly apprehend that person," he said.
"We are seeing an increase in shop theft in Rundle Mall and it was an opportune time for us to increase those police resources and provide that high level of community reassurance and community safety."
The SA opposition called for the latest crime statistics to be released, given no data has yet been published for 2024.
"Crime rates have already skyrocketed under Labor, so it’s concerning Joe Szakacs hasn’t released this year’s statistics when community safety is at the forefront of everyone’s minds," Deputy Opposition Leader John Gardner said.
