According to the officers, scores of female shoplifters are arrested by shop security staff at three major shopping centres around Katlehong. Police media officer Constable Sivenkosi Mtwa told Kathorus MAIL that the older females caught and handed to the police for shoplifting are unemployed single mothers and housewives aged between 21 to 35 and older.
“We also have many men and teenage boys arrested for shoplifting. But only a handful are adult males,” explained Constable Phetutso Netondi to the Kathorus MAIL.
Netondi said Sam Ntuli Mall, Kathlehong Crossing and Sontonga Mall are the three biggest shopping centres in Katlehong as targets for shoplifters.
“They all have a high volume of shoppers, especially at month end,” Netondi explained.
Mtwa also revealed to Kathorus MAIL the items often shoplifted by females:
• Tinned foods
• Baby food
• Baby formula
• Cheese
• Sanitary pads
• Cosmetics
• Shoe polish.
A manager (who refused to be named) at a store targeted by the shoplifters told Kathorus MAIL that the value of the stolen goods amounts to thousands every month.
The police listed the types of stores targeted by the thieves:
• Grocery stores
• General food stores
• Clothing shops and
• Cellphone shops
Mtwa said police believe that incidents of food stolen by staff are the result of poverty and unemployment. Many people arrested for shoplifting list unemployment and their inability to feed their families as the main reason for their criminal actions. He also said shop managers often let the apprehended ‘thief’ go once they had recovered their stolen goods.
“How can I send a starving mother of five children to jail for stealing a block of cheese and a loaf of bread from my shop? I’d rather take the cheese back to the shelf and allow her to leave the store than aggravate her plight by sending her to prison,” said a manager of a wholesale food store who asked to remain anonymous.
Mtwa said some managers of the bigger stores find themselves in a dilemma when the family of an unemployed housewife or the parents of teenagers plead with them not to press charges.
Netondi and Mtwa explained that they discourage this type of family and parental intervention after an arrest. They said such interventions tend to encourage crime rather than deter wrongdoing.
Efforts by Kathorus MAIL to contact the regional manager of the three major food stores – Pick n Pay, Checkers and Shoprite – at their respective head offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg for comment were unsuccessful because calls to their loss control managers went unanswered.
On January 26, Commander Colonel Pieter Erasmus, the head of local visible policing in Katlehong, sector managers Sergeants Dlamini and Makeke, Domestic Violence Co-ordinator Constable Baloyi and reservists conducted foot patrols at shopping centres to educate shoppers about crime and shoplifting.
According to Erasmus, many shoppers regard shoplifting as a minor crime.
“Sadly, many people who engage in this crime forget that shoplifting can have an enormous effect on their life because it comes with a criminal record,” warned Erasmus.
Anti-crime pamphlets were distributed and talks were held on domestic violence and fraud, which shoppers often fall victim to when they purchase online.
Shoppers were also educated about falling victim to scams and concluding ‘ghost deals’ like buying homes and cars they have not seen.
“As the police, we continue to plead with communities to be extra cautious and avoid falling victim to scams. We also urge the community to report suspicious activity on our crime stop line, 08600 10111, or to use the MySAPS app that one can download to any smartphone,” said Erasmus.
