In relation to today's announcement from the Victorian Premier to introduce legislation to establish a new Workplace Protection Order (WPO) scheme.
Statement attributable to Auror Vice President Nick McDonnell
“The great work by retailers and police to crack down on violent and organised retail crime in Victoria will only be strengthened by the introduction of Workplace Protection Orders (WPOs) next year.”
“WPOs are a critical part of the solution, but to truly address this issue we also need continued leadership from government to support police with the tools to target the top prolific repeat offenders causing the most harm in retail settings.
“Retail crime reporting in Auror shows the top 10% of offenders are responsible for 65% of retail crime in Victoria, and those repeat offenders are four times more likely to be violent. Violent behaviour in Victorian retail stores has also jumped by almost 11% this year. We know many national retailers are spending a disproportionate amount of their safety budgets in Victoria to combat this problem.
“Technology is key to allowing retailers and police to surface these offenders, report more rapidly and go after the organised crime rings responsible for much of the issue. It’s positive to see the new Premier with first hand frontline retail experience now focusing efforts on this crucial issue.”
Victorian retail crime data recorded in Auror
- Violent events up 10.5% so far this year. This follows a 29% increase in violent events in 2025.
- The top 10% of offenders are responsible for 65% of total retail crime.
- Repeat offenders are driving violent behaviour - they are up to 4x more likely to be violent in store.
- Around 100 violent crime events occur in retail settings every day.
