The latest South Australian Police crime statistics reveal a troubling trend: petrol drive-offs are severely impacting retailers, and the situation is worsening.
Surprisingly, the industry has not adopted a straightforward solution that could eliminate such thefts immediately.
In the past year, 8,967 petrol drive-offs have been investigated in South Australia, with an additional 7,160 cases not meeting the investigation criteria. This totals nearly 45 daily incidents, an increase from the previous year’s average of 42.
This rise in thefts is somewhat expected. As living costs increase, more people struggle to afford essentials like fuel, sometimes resorting to theft.
However, as police have consistently highlighted, there is a simple way to eradicate this issue.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens has stated that fuel theft is “entirely preventable” if retailers implement a pre-pay system for fuel purchases.
“We’ve been working with the retail fuel industry for over a decade to find ways to prevent petrol theft,” Stevens said. “The reality is, as shown by one particular retail outlet in South Australia, that fuel theft could be stopped overnight by introducing pre-paid fuel. There is no escaping that conclusion.”
Thanks to its pre-pay system, the Costco fuel station in Adelaide’s western suburbs is believed to be the only outlet free from petrol drive-off thefts. This method is standard in America, where customers can still enter the store to make additional purchases.
So, why haven’t Australian outlets adopted this approach?
Retailers resist pre-pay systems because they fear losing in-store sales, such as drinks or chewing gum, that customers might pick up on their way to pay for petrol. They prefer to maintain their current business model and let the police handle the inevitable thefts.
This year alone, this approach has led to nearly 9,000 extra reports for the police to follow up on, straining South Australia’s already overburdened police resources.
No theft is acceptable, but the police cannot be everywhere. Retailers need to take responsibility where they can.
As police face well-publicized recruitment and retention challenges, their job is becoming increasingly difficult.
The latest statistics also show a 13% rise in family and domestic abuse-related offences, an increase in shop theft, and more instances of serious criminal trespass.
These figures indicate that the police have more critical issues to address than chasing up petrol drive-offs.
It’s time for retailers to start protecting themselves and help ease the burden on law enforcement.
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