The increase in shop theft cases may be a result of more widespread use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) technology by retailers, the police said.
This has improved retailers’ ability to detect shop theft, including those that might have gone unnoticed at the time of the incident.
SPF added that it has also been using the improved detection capabilities of retailers, such as facial recognition, to identify and track down shop theft offenders.
“Such technology has allowed retailers to better detect repeat offenders at their outlets and assist SPF in apprehending them,” they added.
“This enhanced ability is a significant deterrent; even if the offenders manage to evade immediate detection, they will still face consequences for their actions.”
The police also said they have been “actively engaging” youths to raise awareness of the consequences of shop theft.
This includes working closely with the Ministry of Education to implement various initiatives, such as conducting school talks at least once a year.
There are also targeted youth engagement programmes to reinforce crime prevention messages.
Other efforts to engage with the community, apart from youths, include the Coffee with a Cop initiative, house visits and crime prevention talks.
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 retail outlets have come on board the police’s Shop Theft Awareness for Retailers (STAR) programme as of Dec 31, 2024.
FairPrice Group, one of Singapore’s major supermarket chains, joined STAR in November 2024, said SPF.
It has also expanded its collaboration with cosmetic chain Sephora, Popular and Mustafa Centre in Little India to fully onboard all their retail outlets islandwide to the programme.
“This expansion demonstrates the growing commitment among retailers to participate in collaborative efforts to address shop theft and strengthen their retail security measures,” SPF added.
Under the programme, SPF works closely with retailers to analyse their stores’ risk factors and vulnerabilities to shop theft, as well as jointly identify effective and practical crime prevention measures which can be adopted at the different stores.
For instance, retailers such as bookstore chain Popular have put in place enhanced in-store security measures and surveillance signage for stronger deterrence and detection abilities.
