Cobbler rd owners Hayley and Mick Veitch with one of the items recovered from the alleged shoplifters. Photo: Chris Roe.
A pair of Wagga business owners on Baylis Street have had enough of shoplifters walking off with their stock, and this week took matters into their own hands.
They confronted the alleged thieves, retrieved their items and posted security footage to Facebook in a furious post that quickly went viral.
“Here we go again… being understaffed doesn’t help so today made us take matters into our own hands…” Cobbler rd owner Hayley Veitch wrote before telling the tale and naming and shaming the alleged culprits.
Hundreds of comments, likes and shares followed and the interest prompted a visit from the police.
“I feel like I’m talking to the news nearly every other week with all this crime,” said an exasperated Hayley with a shake of her head.
A Facebook post naming and shaming the alleged shoplifters has gone viral on the Cobbler rd Facebook page. Photo: Facebook.
Hayley and husband Mick were on leave when a staff member called them on Wednesday (22 January) to say shoplifters had struck again.
They had noticed that a pair of cowhide leather purses, worth $300, were missing from the shelf and looked back over the CCTV footage to identify the culprits.
“Cooper FaceTimed us to show us the security footage and we were fuming,” Hayley said.
“I said to Mick, I just really want to go downtown and see if I can find them. And he goes, let’s do it!”
Armed with crystal-clear images of the two alleged thieves, the shop owners circled the CBD and spotted them getting into a taxi.
“Mick jumped out of the car and he ran straight over there and just flung open the taxi door and said, ‘You’ve just stolen from my shop, and I want it back!’ and of course she denied it,” Hayley recalled.
“Her bag was like a duffle bag and it was just overflowing with stuff from all these other shops they’d been to, and the other one was saying ‘I didn’t take anything, I didn’t take anything’, and I’m saying – ‘they’re in your bag. I can see them. We’ve got you on camera as clear as day! Give the stuff back or I’ll be taking this to the police.”
Footage of the alleged shoplifters who were forced to return two cowhide purses to Cobbler rd. Photo: Supplied.
The woman reportedly handed back the two purses and, according to Hayley, mumbled, “Times are tough, you know.”
“No s–t, Sherlock!” Hayley replied, letting the pair know exactly how tough it was for businesses being routinely robbed. As she gave the women an earful, Mick went to the front of the cab to speak to the driver and said, “You might want to get payment upfront!”.
In the wake of the Facebook post and the overwhelming response from the public, Hayley said the police paid them a visit and it seems a long list of neighbouring stores reported thefts at around the same time.
Cash Converters store manager Chris Roche said he is fed up with business owners losing out due to theft and is proposing businesses band together to identify and prohibit known thieves.
“The idea is that it will be a private chat group between businesses where a photograph of a suspect can be distributed to the WhatsApp group people only,” Mr Roche said.
“The surrounding shops can be aware of that person and look out for the, and we’ll upload the police event phone number so anyone who is identified can be authenticated.
“There’s no public name and shame, it’s just a way businesses can stay on top of what seems to be a growing number of thefts on the main street.”
Mr Roche said this kind of story is becoming increasingly common and would like to see an increased police presence on the main street.
“It’s a bit like the Wild West on Baylis at the moment,” he said.
“I think that the police should be giving more support to the local shops in having a more visible presence in the shopping areas. Just walking through the shopping areas, being seen, and helping to deter shoplifters.”
Mr Roche is also encouraging any bystanders who notice a theft to please let the store managers know.
“Tell the shop!” he pleaded.
“Shop theft leads to an increase in costs on the business, which can incur increased costs when selling other goods to law-abiding customers. All items, even stolen items, have to be purchased by the shopkeeper to be able to sell.”
Riverina Police have been contacted for comment.
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