Retail Crime

Ms YASMIN CATLEY ( Swansea—Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism, and Minister for the Hunter) (11:50:52): I have more good news to share about the police, and I thank the member for East Hills. Retail theft and abuse towards retail workers is shocking and completely unacceptable. The NSW Police Force is working tirelessly to target retail crime and repeat offenders by conducting operations at retail precincts right across our State. From Marrickville to Miranda, from Castle Hill to Cronulla, and even in our regional retail precincts, police are protecting shoppers through strategies like targeted operations against theft and wanding for the presence of knives. Let me be very clear: The New South Wales Government and police have a zero tolerance approach to attacking workers, or vandalising or stealing from retail stores. I note the laughter from Opposition frontbench members. I only ask the Opposition to back the cops.

The SPEAKER: Order! I direct the member for Bathurst to remove himself from the Chamber under Standing Order 249A until the end of question time.

[Pursuant to standing order the member for Bathurst left the Chamber at 11:51.]

Ms YASMIN CATLEY: As recently as October last year, I announced the NSW Police Force Retail Crime Strategy. I was proud to stand alongside major retailers, retail associations and unions to announce that policy. We are all united in tackling retail crime in all its forms. The launch came off the back of the widely successful Operation Percentile, which I announced to the House last year. That operation saw great results, so we rolled it out across the State. Operation Percentile is policing at its finest. It uses sophisticated strategies and intelligence to catch criminals and protect the community from harm. Shockingly, police intelligence indicates that approximately 10 per cent of retail offenders account for a whopping 60 per cent of retail crime. That is why Operation Percentile employs a range of prevention, disruption and response strategies, including high-visibility policing, identifying repeat and cross-jurisdictional offenders, analysing crime trends, and working closely with retailers and retail staff to combat crime in their stores. [Extension of time]

Operation Percentile has been an absolute triumph. Police have taken legal action in over 1,300 retail theft incidents and charged more than 300 people. The Daily Telegraph recently reported that incidents involving weapons in retail settings in New South Wales have fallen by 6 per cent. There is work to do, but the New South Wales police are all over this. In the same Telegraph story, the CEO of the Australian Retail Council, Chris Rodwell, said, "We have seen some excellent progress from State governments in introducing tougher penalties and broader safety measures." He went on to say that New South Wales is "starting to see some positive impact".

The New South Wales Government is also making sure that we protect workers—members opposite are silent, thank goodness—through our significant legislative reforms. I thank the Minister for Industrial Relations for bringing them to this House. We are also giving the police the tools they need to better protect workers from assault and abuse. Our tough laws have provided greater penalties for assault, as they should. Horribly, research from the McKell Institute, commissioned by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association, found that a staggering 85 per cent of retail workers had been abused or assaulted at their workplace. It is simply unacceptable that people who work every day to serve the public are regularly abused and assaulted. There is no excuse for that behaviour. Members on this side of the Chamber will stand up for working people on every single occasion.