‘Give me my stuff back’: Disturbing vision captures latest example of Victoria’s retail violence

Yelling in frustration and smashing her feet into the glass facade of a Melbourne boutique, a woman’s brazen alleged daylight burglary is the latest example of retail violence in a crisis gripping Victoria.

The woman was captured on video kicking the locked glass doors of Ji Studio on Elizabeth Street in the CBD about 3pm on Saturday, and using a barrier stand to try to force her way in, yelling, “give me my stuff back, c---“.

After the door gave way, a crowd of people gathered outside the boutique, watching in shock as the woman pushed through the door, and allegedly gathered cash and clothes inside.

The clothes were heaped in her arm as she squeezed her way back out the broken glass door, then yelled into the store a final time before allegedly walking off with the haul.

Loading

Victoria Police is investigating the incident. A spokeswoman said a worker sustained “non-life-threatening injuries” during the alleged aggravated burglary.

Workers initially locked the woman out after she allegedly tried to steal clothes.

“The offender forced her way back inside armed with a dangerous article before she assaulted a female staff member,” the police spokeswoman said.

“The woman stole money and clothing items before fleeing the store.”

Victoria has become Australia’s retail theft capital, as workers are also forced to contend with a crisis of abuse, violence and knife crime.

Victorian retail union boss Michael Donovan said the “violent attack” showed exactly why his union was demanding the Allan government “deliver the tougher penalties it promised”.

The Allan government has vowed to introduce laws by the end of this year to punish criminals who assault retail workers.

“Waiting for Christmas as the premier has promised is too long. This latest attack shows retail workers and shoppers need proper protection now,” said Donovan, Victorian secretary of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association.

“If it was good enough to bring forward the machete ban, then surely the time for the government to act on its pledges to retail workers is now.”

Loading

The union is also pushing for workplace protection orders that act like apprehended violence orders to protect workers from violent criminals.

“Retail crime is not petty theft; it is violent and organised,” Donovan said.

“The [union] will continue to call this out until every worker can feel safe at work and every attack is met with real, concrete consequences.”

Thefts in Victoria rose by almost 30 per cent in 2024 – the steepest rise of any Australian state or territory, according to recent data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

About a third of thefts in Victoria happened in retail settings (not including car thefts), affecting about 55,000 victims.

Loading

Woolworths attributes half of its 26 per cent increase in violent incidents to Victorian stores. Despite having more stores in NSW, Coles’ Victorian supermarkets are experiencing 40 per cent more retail crime incidents.

Organised thieves have repeatedly targeted Melbourne’s luxury fashion stores with ram-raids in recent months, while the city’s CBD is a “hot spot” for criminal activity.

Police urged anyone with further information about the alleged Elizabeth Street burglary to come forward.

Most Viewed in National

Loading