❓ A WA parliamentary question on notice requests data on shoplifting charges and fines from 2016 to early 2019, broken down by month and police district. The response provides data on arrests and summonses but notes limitations in reporting charges and on-the-spot fines due to system constraints and data collection changes.
AnsweredQoN 4876Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the crime of shoplifting as per the criminal code and ask (a) How many people have been charged for shoplifting in each month of 2016, 2017, 2018, and as of 1 March 2019 (b) how many people were charged for shoplifting according to police district in each of the years 2016, 2017, 2018, and as of 1 March 2019 (c) How many people have been issued with an on-the-spot fine for shop lifting or similar offences in each month of 2016, 2017, 2018, and as of 1 March 2019 (d) How many on-the-spot fines issued for shoplifting or similar offences were not paid in the years 2016, 2017, 2018, and as of 1 March 2019
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
14 May 2019
Responded by
Minister for Police; Road Safety
Response time
15 days
The Western Australian Police Force advise:
(a) The count of unique persons recorded with an outcome of arrested or summonsed for shoplifting in the Western Australia Police Force by month for 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 to date is provided below. The offence type ‘Stealing from Retail Premises (Shoplift)’ was created on 7 June 2017 to distinctly record shoplifting. Counting of shoplifting prior to 7 June 2017 used stealing offences with a place type of ‘shops’. This method has been included prior to 7 June 2017 to provide a more complete picture of offenders across the time period requested. It should be noted that some offenders have been processed after 7 June 2017 for offences that occurred prior to 7 June 2017. In the Prosecution System, the system used to record ‘charges’, the offence of shoplifting is not available to specifically split out shoplifting from other stealing charges. As a result, reporting of ‘charges’ for shoplifting from the Prosecution System has not been undertaken.
2016
January 295
February 313
March 366
April 327
May 380
June 322
July 337
August 334
September 302
October 346
November 332
December 339
2017
January 313
February 347
March 404
April 384
May 384
June* 270
July 292
August 325
September 286
October 281
November 336
December 290
*Periods post 7 June 2017 are not directly comparable to prior periods. The offence ‘Stealing from Retail Premises (Shoplift)’ was added on 7 June 2017.
2018
January 308
February 349
March 348
April 280
May 329
June 328
July 330
August 300
September 314
October 298
November 345
December 349
2019
January 342
February 316
(b) The count of unique persons recorded with an outcome of arrested or summonsed for shoplifting in IMS by police district for 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 to date is provided below. The offence type ‘Stealing from Retail Premises (Shoplift)’ was created on 7 June 2017 to distinctly record shoplifting. Counting of shoplifting prior to 7 June 2017 used stealing offences with a place type of ‘shops’. This method has been included prior to 7 June 2017 to provide a more complete picture of offenders across the time period requested. It should be noted that some offenders have been processed after 7 June 2017 for offences that occurred prior to 7 June 2017. In the Prosecution System, the system used to record ‘charges’, the offence of shoplifting is not available to specifically split out shoplifting from other stealing charges. As a result, reporting of ‘charges’ for shoplifting from the Prosecution System has not been undertaken. In April 2018, the Commissioner of Police announced details of a significant operational restructure of the WA Police Force. On 16 July 2018, the WA Police Force completed the transition from four metropolitan policing districts to eight. Each metropolitan policing district is now named in accordance with a major centre to make it simpler to identify with the local community. The following information is provided for the geographic area of policing districts as currently constituted:
2016
Armadale 251
Cannington 365
Fremantle 423
Joondalup 377
Mandurah 243
Midland 373
Mirrabooka 411
Perth 294
Goldfields-Esperance 111
Great Southern 104
Kimberley 50
Mid West-Gascoyne 97
Pilbara 92
South West 184
Wheatbelt 44
2017*
Armadale 249
Cannington 336
Fremantle 360
Joondalup 367
Mandurah 291
Midland 426
Mirrabooka 391
Perth 321
Goldfields-Esperance 90
Great Southern 111
Kimberley 38
Mid West-Gascoyne 112
Pilbara 54
South West 169
Wheatbelt 44
*The offence ‘Stealing from Retail Premises (Shoplift)’ was added on 7 June 2017. Periods post 7 June 2017 are not directly comparable to prior periods.
2018
Armadale 233
Cannington 334
Fremantle 347
Joondalup 394
Mandurah 296
Midland 417
Mirrabooka 339
Perth 278
Goldfields-Esperance 94
Great Southern 77
Kimberley 28
Mid West-Gascoyne 128
Pilbara 42
South West 166
Wheatbelt 52
2019*
Armadale 65
Cannington 62
Fremantle 75
Joondalup 77
Mandurah 50
Midland 63
Mirrabooka 85
Perth 72
Goldfields-Esperance 13
Great Southern 20
Kimberley 11
Mid West-Gascoyne 38
Pilbara 18
South West 37
Wheatbelt 7
*2019 to date includes figures for the period 1 January to 28 February 2019, inclusive.
(c) The count of unique persons issued a Criminal Code Infringement Notice (CCIN) for stealing in each month of 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 to date is provided below. Note that CCIN issued for shoplifting are not readily distinguishable from CCIN issued for other types of stealing, so statistics for all stealing CCIN have been provided.
2016
January 132
February 196
March 160
April 181
May 224
June 174
July 185
August 166
September 178
October 191
November 153
December 127
2017
January 140
February 142
March 180
April 164
May 173
June 168
July 133
August 188
September 177
October 168
November 148
December 179
2018
January 183
February 184
March 216
April 194
May 199
June 206
July 162
August 157
September 152
October 184
November 216
December 157
2019
January 177
February 140
(d) The count of Criminal Code Infringement Notices (CCIN) issued for stealing with a status of ‘Not Paid’ in the years 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 to date is provided below. Note that CCIN issued for shoplifting are not readily distinguishable from CCIN issued for other types of stealing, so statistics for all stealing CCIN have been provided.
2016 1 773
2017 1 739
2018 2 017
2019* 316
*2019 includes figures for the period 1 January to 28 February 2019, inclusive.
Statistics are provisional and subject to revision. Criminal Code Act 1913 (WA) s 371 defines the offence of stealing and s 378 defines the penalties for stealing. No section of the Criminal Code specifies shoplifting as a separate offence. The offence type ‘Stealing from Retail Premises (Shoplift)’ was created in the Incident Management System (IMS), the system Western Australia Police Force uses to record offences, on 7 June 2017 to distinctly record shoplifting. Counting of shoplifting in IMS for periods prior to 7 June 2017 used stealing offences with a place type of ‘shops’. This method has been included prior to 7 June 2017 to provide a complete picture of offenders across the time period requested. Note that some offenders have been processed after 7 June 2017 for offences that occurred prior to 7 June 2017. Prior and current methods of reporting shoplifting cannot be compared and as such, any interpretation should be made with caution. There is the possibility, using the pre 7 June 2017 methodology, for stealing offences to be recorded with a place type of ‘shops’ but reflect a stealing offence other than shoplifting, for example stealing from a customer in a shop. Date arrested or summonsed was determined using the date the offence result was added. District was determined using the location that the offence occurred. On-the-spot fines for shoplifting or similar offences is represented by Criminal Code Infringement Notices (CCIN). CCIN apply to all stealing offences where the goods stolen value $500 or less, these include but are not limited to shoplifting offences. A ‘count of unique persons’ only counts an individual once for each month or district and year in which that person is recorded as offending. The ‘overall’ count of unique persons included in (a) and (b) reflects the unique persons for the period when taking into account both methods of counting shoplifting offences. If the person were to offend across multiple time periods or locations, they will be counted once per period or location. Unpaid CCIN were determined using the payment status. The date of a CCIN was determined using the date of first issue. Note that some CCIN issued in February 2019 are still within the 28 day window for payment, and as a result may not have been paid but are not yet overdue.
(a) The count of unique persons recorded with an outcome of arrested or summonsed for shoplifting in the Western Australia Police Force by month for 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 to date is provided below. The offence type ‘Stealing from Retail Premises (Shoplift)’ was created on 7 June 2017 to distinctly record shoplifting. Counting of shoplifting prior to 7 June 2017 used stealing offences with a place type of ‘shops’. This method has been included prior to 7 June 2017 to provide a more complete picture of offenders across the time period requested. It should be noted that some offenders have been processed after 7 June 2017 for offences that occurred prior to 7 June 2017. In the Prosecution System, the system used to record ‘charges’, the offence of shoplifting is not available to specifically split out shoplifting from other stealing charges. As a result, reporting of ‘charges’ for shoplifting from the Prosecution System has not been undertaken.
2016
January 295
February 313
March 366
April 327
May 380
June 322
July 337
August 334
September 302
October 346
November 332
December 339
2017
January 313
February 347
March 404
April 384
May 384
June* 270
July 292
August 325
September 286
October 281
November 336
December 290
*Periods post 7 June 2017 are not directly comparable to prior periods. The offence ‘Stealing from Retail Premises (Shoplift)’ was added on 7 June 2017.
2018
January 308
February 349
March 348
April 280
May 329
June 328
July 330
August 300
September 314
October 298
November 345
December 349
2019
January 342
February 316
(b) The count of unique persons recorded with an outcome of arrested or summonsed for shoplifting in IMS by police district for 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 to date is provided below. The offence type ‘Stealing from Retail Premises (Shoplift)’ was created on 7 June 2017 to distinctly record shoplifting. Counting of shoplifting prior to 7 June 2017 used stealing offences with a place type of ‘shops’. This method has been included prior to 7 June 2017 to provide a more complete picture of offenders across the time period requested. It should be noted that some offenders have been processed after 7 June 2017 for offences that occurred prior to 7 June 2017. In the Prosecution System, the system used to record ‘charges’, the offence of shoplifting is not available to specifically split out shoplifting from other stealing charges. As a result, reporting of ‘charges’ for shoplifting from the Prosecution System has not been undertaken. In April 2018, the Commissioner of Police announced details of a significant operational restructure of the WA Police Force. On 16 July 2018, the WA Police Force completed the transition from four metropolitan policing districts to eight. Each metropolitan policing district is now named in accordance with a major centre to make it simpler to identify with the local community. The following information is provided for the geographic area of policing districts as currently constituted:
2016
Armadale 251
Cannington 365
Fremantle 423
Joondalup 377
Mandurah 243
Midland 373
Mirrabooka 411
Perth 294
Goldfields-Esperance 111
Great Southern 104
Kimberley 50
Mid West-Gascoyne 97
Pilbara 92
South West 184
Wheatbelt 44
2017*
Armadale 249
Cannington 336
Fremantle 360
Joondalup 367
Mandurah 291
Midland 426
Mirrabooka 391
Perth 321
Goldfields-Esperance 90
Great Southern 111
Kimberley 38
Mid West-Gascoyne 112
Pilbara 54
South West 169
Wheatbelt 44
*The offence ‘Stealing from Retail Premises (Shoplift)’ was added on 7 June 2017. Periods post 7 June 2017 are not directly comparable to prior periods.
2018
Armadale 233
Cannington 334
Fremantle 347
Joondalup 394
Mandurah 296
Midland 417
Mirrabooka 339
Perth 278
Goldfields-Esperance 94
Great Southern 77
Kimberley 28
Mid West-Gascoyne 128
Pilbara 42
South West 166
Wheatbelt 52
2019*
Armadale 65
Cannington 62
Fremantle 75
Joondalup 77
Mandurah 50
Midland 63
Mirrabooka 85
Perth 72
Goldfields-Esperance 13
Great Southern 20
Kimberley 11
Mid West-Gascoyne 38
Pilbara 18
South West 37
Wheatbelt 7
*2019 to date includes figures for the period 1 January to 28 February 2019, inclusive.
(c) The count of unique persons issued a Criminal Code Infringement Notice (CCIN) for stealing in each month of 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 to date is provided below. Note that CCIN issued for shoplifting are not readily distinguishable from CCIN issued for other types of stealing, so statistics for all stealing CCIN have been provided.
2016
January 132
February 196
March 160
April 181
May 224
June 174
July 185
August 166
September 178
October 191
November 153
December 127
2017
January 140
February 142
March 180
April 164
May 173
June 168
July 133
August 188
September 177
October 168
November 148
December 179
2018
January 183
February 184
March 216
April 194
May 199
June 206
July 162
August 157
September 152
October 184
November 216
December 157
2019
January 177
February 140
(d) The count of Criminal Code Infringement Notices (CCIN) issued for stealing with a status of ‘Not Paid’ in the years 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 to date is provided below. Note that CCIN issued for shoplifting are not readily distinguishable from CCIN issued for other types of stealing, so statistics for all stealing CCIN have been provided.
2016 1 773
2017 1 739
2018 2 017
2019* 316
*2019 includes figures for the period 1 January to 28 February 2019, inclusive.
Statistics are provisional and subject to revision. Criminal Code Act 1913 (WA) s 371 defines the offence of stealing and s 378 defines the penalties for stealing. No section of the Criminal Code specifies shoplifting as a separate offence. The offence type ‘Stealing from Retail Premises (Shoplift)’ was created in the Incident Management System (IMS), the system Western Australia Police Force uses to record offences, on 7 June 2017 to distinctly record shoplifting. Counting of shoplifting in IMS for periods prior to 7 June 2017 used stealing offences with a place type of ‘shops’. This method has been included prior to 7 June 2017 to provide a complete picture of offenders across the time period requested. Note that some offenders have been processed after 7 June 2017 for offences that occurred prior to 7 June 2017. Prior and current methods of reporting shoplifting cannot be compared and as such, any interpretation should be made with caution. There is the possibility, using the pre 7 June 2017 methodology, for stealing offences to be recorded with a place type of ‘shops’ but reflect a stealing offence other than shoplifting, for example stealing from a customer in a shop. Date arrested or summonsed was determined using the date the offence result was added. District was determined using the location that the offence occurred. On-the-spot fines for shoplifting or similar offences is represented by Criminal Code Infringement Notices (CCIN). CCIN apply to all stealing offences where the goods stolen value $500 or less, these include but are not limited to shoplifting offences. A ‘count of unique persons’ only counts an individual once for each month or district and year in which that person is recorded as offending. The ‘overall’ count of unique persons included in (a) and (b) reflects the unique persons for the period when taking into account both methods of counting shoplifting offences. If the person were to offend across multiple time periods or locations, they will be counted once per period or location. Unpaid CCIN were determined using the payment status. The date of a CCIN was determined using the date of first issue. Note that some CCIN issued in February 2019 are still within the 28 day window for payment, and as a result may not have been paid but are not yet overdue.
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