Failing economy drives up food theft, shoplifting, petrol theft

[philw]

<http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,25340901-2,00.html>
no shit,   yet we are not allowed to really protect our selves,  and we have a flat out under staffed police dealing with the revolving door crims that the courts like to sent back out to the community to be rehabilitated or out chasing the latest Government baddy list 

Desperate people resorting to stealing food
Fraud, including petrol theft, on the rise
"We're heading for problems"
DESPERATE people are resorting to stealing food - a sign the failing economy is driving up crime.

New Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research figures released yesterday for NSW revealed shoplifting of food rose 17 per cent last year, with almost two cases reported to police every day.

But alcohol topped the shopping list for thieves, with 1047 thefts reported in 2008, up from 753 in 2007, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Sydney's Canterbury Bankstown had the largest area increase for shoplifting, with reports up 32 per cent on 2007.

Overall, shoplifting was one of only two of the 17 major categories in the 2008 crime report to register an increase, up 7.8 per cent on 2007.

The largest increase (15.7 per cent) was in fraud, primarily driven by a surge in petrol theft.

A Sydney store detective told The Daily Telegraph that aged pensioners and drug-users were the usual suspects for food theft.

"(But) when times get tough the sort of people we've caught stealing food aren't the ones you would normally see - they're not the people who would normally steal. We've seen some pretty sad cases," he said.

One trend over the past two months has been an increase in tradespeople stealing materials from suppliers.

"You used to get one a fortnight but for the past two months in this store on the Northern Beaches we're getting about eight a week," he said.

"They say they're doing it hard and are stealing materials for their jobs."

Monash University criminologist Associate Professor Colleen Lewis said it "wouldn't be a great surprise" some people would turn to shoplifting food in hard times.

Bureau director Dr Don Weatherburn said it was still too soon to say whether this was the end of a period of lower crime rates brought on by a booming economy, drug drought and the targeting of repeat offenders.

Opposition police spokesman Mike Gallacher said the theft of food was a "wake-up call".

"When desperate people start stealing food, it is a sign that the good times have come to an end and we're heading for problems," he said.

[Ping]

A hardcore, punk rock band, Cro-Mags from NYC  that I used to really be into had a song called "These are the Signs of the Times". The lyrics make perfect sense over 20 years later.

[BAC]

Thank God we don't have petrol here.   

[JC5123]

Thank God we don't have petrol here.   

No but just you wait entire corn fields will go missing and the headline will read Midnight bandits make off with 6 months worth of bio fuel!

[PegLeg45]

Mad Max.....The Road Warrior...........what?

[Sponsor]

[runstowin]

This little economic thingy is world wide, no where to escape. The noose is tightening.

[philw]

This little economic thingy is world wide, no where to escape. The noose is tightening.

this "little" economic thingy  is more a Media Beat up 

if they just spent half the time and energy talking the economy up and how good things are  in stead of this doom and gloom crap we here every 10 Mins  then everything would start to turn around,   I blame them more than the companies that are going under