Specialist police officers trained to respond to terrorism-related incidents and violent domestic events have been called in to patrol a mall in Adelaide following a spike in retail crime.
Rundle Mall in the city’s CBD has seen a surge in violent shoplifting, the most recent being yesterday’s daylight robbery of a Footlocker by a man allegedly wielding an axe.
In response, police patrols will increase to provide a highly visible and responsive presence and assist in “the deterrence of would-be shop theft offenders”.
Under “Operation Measure”, heavily armed officers from several squads including the mounted operations unit and the dog squad will be deployed in the CBD, including Rundle Mall.
The task force, which was established in 2022, targets violent retail crime and has led to the arrest of over 1300 people.
“Operation Measure officers pay particular attention to shop theft offences… and have regular contact with city retailers to gather evidence of theft and provide crime prevention advice,” police said in a statement issued today.
It comes as a 45-year-old man was arrested during patrols of Rundle Mall this morning.
Retailers advised police the man had allegedly stolen clothing from their store.
He was later charged with theft and released on conditional bail to appear in Adelaide Magistrates Court on May 13.
The items were retrieved and there were no reports of a confrontation or injuries.
