A Sydney clothing store owner hit by a wave of theft has taken matters into his own hands, publicly exposing shoplifters on social media.
Travis Hale, who says he has lost thousands of dollars in stock to theft, has begun posting CCTV footage of offenders in action, revealing shocking behaviour.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Sydney retailer fights back against shoplifters online
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In one video, Hale narrates as an elderly man calmly pockets a pair of sunglasses before walking out of the store.
“This genius has just sauntered in, and he’s playing this sweet old man card,” Hale says.
“You can see a pair of sunnies there. He’s eyed them up straight away. He’s done the little look out the back. He’s picked them up and then, like an absolute champion, he’s turned around and could not have given us a better video shot of him sliding those sunnies into his little pocket.”
Months later, the same man returned to the store only to be recognised immediately, confronted, and asked to leave.
“Hey mate, I know who you are. I’ve got you on video stealing from me. I know exactly who you are. Get out of my store,” Hale told him.
Hale told Sunrise shoplifting had become increasingly common, describing it as “prolific”.
“We do catch a lot of them … it is really frustrating,” he said.
He said many offenders do not fit the typical image of a shoplifter, with some appearing relatively affluent.
“You would have this idea in your head of what you would expect the shoplifters to be like,” Hale said.
“But we’ve had customers with Chanel bags on. I’ve caught a woman stealing who was wearing a Rolex.”
Hale believes motivations vary, with some driven by addiction and others by the thrill rather than just the standard financial necessity.
Despite the risks of confronting offenders, he said the impact of repeated theft often outweighs any hesitation.
“You’d be surprised how not nervous you get when people are stealing money off you,” he said.
While he has been threatened before, he said most offenders respond with remorse when confronted, often apologising and offering to pay for the stolen items.
Since launching the social media campaign, Hale says he has noticed a slight drop in theft and has been contacted by other retailers keen to follow his lead.
“It’s just literally something that we did because we wanted to bring awareness to what’s going on,” he said.
“Other retailers have reached out to me and said, ‘Oh, we love that you’re posting these’.”
