Retail Drinks Australia (RDA) is calling for urgent action to protect retail workers and small businesses, with retail crime surging by more than 67% in NSW over the past five years.

RDA said increasingly brazen theft, break-ins, intimidation and violence continued to hit liquor retailers across the state.

The call follows a string of recent incidents, including multiple liquor-store break-ins on Sydney’s Northern Beaches and CCTV footage showing teenagers stealing alcohol and pushing past retail workers in Mascot.

RDA CEO Michael Waters said: “This is another example of increasingly brazen retail crime targeting local retail liquor businesses.

“Retail crime has increased by 67% in NSW over the past five years, and our own industry research shows nearly half of liquor-store staff experience a security incident weekly or more often.

“Retailers are investing heavily in CCTV, security and staff training, but they cannot tackle this problem alone.”

RDA’s industry research, involving more than 1000 retail liquor stores also found only 47 per cent report every security incident to police, while 15 per cent of employees reported feeling unsafe or very unsafe at work.

Waters said the industry was continuing to act through RDA’s Safe to Serve industry responsibility program, which provides retailers and staff with practical resources covering security risk assessments, target-hardening, physical security, de-escalation and managing high-risk situations.

RDA has also participated in consultation on Workplace Protection Orders (WPOs) welcoming the NSW Government’s commitment to WPOs and calling for the legislation’s introduction and passing without delay.

RDA is also calling on both the NSW Government and Opposition to back its proposed Small Business Security Rebate Program, designed to help businesses physically harden stores against crime.

The proposal would provide matched grants of up to $15,000 for measures including CCTV, alarms, duress buttons, security lighting, shutters, bollards and access-control systems, alongside security assessment vouchers worth up to $3,000. It is modelled on successful business-security programs operating in the Northern Territory.

“Government should be helping small businesses make themselves harder targets, while ensuring police and the courts have the tools to deal with those who repeatedly target them.

“RDA is calling on the NSW Government to continue working with industry on stronger enforcement, better support for retailers and meaningful consequences for repeat offenders.” Waters concluded.

Pictured main: An incident at Cellabrations store in Mona Vale, on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, showed three hooded boys fighting off a customer and employee who tried to intervene as they fled.