A man and woman who allegedly stole more than a quarter of a million dollars’ worth of goods are re-evaluating their choices after fronting court.

In response to ongoing concerns around retail crime, the Auckland City West Area have implemented a new team with the sole purpose of specifically targeting recidivist retail crime offenders and holding them to account for their offending.

The team will work in the policing area covering the suburbs between Mt Roskill, Mt Albert, Avondale, Pt Chevalier and Ponsonby.

Area Prevention Manager Inspector Wayne Kitcher says the Tactical Retail Crime Unit started on Monday and within hours had apprehended two nationally sought shoplifters.

“Between them, these two individuals have accumulated more than $250,000 worth of loss to retailers from across the region.

“We will allege that this offending was spread across multiple retailers, where high value items were targeted on a regular basis,” Inspector Kitcher says.

“Retail crime cost retailers approximately $2.6 billion annually in losses.”

He says that in the past 18 months the level of retail crime offending has increased on previous years.

“These arrests serve as a clear message to anyone who steals from retailers, that this offending will not be tolerated and that if people chose to engage in this behaviour they can expect to be held to account.

“What I ask of our retailers is to please continue to report retail offending, reporting offences is the first step to help Police target these individuals and put them before the court.”

A 37-year-old man facing five counts of shoplifting has been remanded in custody and will appear in Auckland District Court on 29 July.

A 28-year-old woman has been remanded in custody and will appear in Auckland District Court on 30 July facing nine counts of shoplifting and burglary charges.

Further charges are being considered.

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