91 alleged thieves have been arrested and charged with hundreds of offences in just four months, in a continued effort to drive down retail crime across Shepparton.
Since May, the Operation Securus team has made more than 120 arrests, laid more than 530 charges, and recovered more than $45,000 of allegedly stolen goods – the majority of which have been returned to local businesses and supermarkets.
28 alleged repeat offenders have been caught, with a 41-year-old Mooroopna woman arrested 17 times since the operation commenced.
Anecdotally, local police are seeing groceries, alcohol and clothing as the most commonly stolen items.
Recent arrests of note include:
- On Sunday 30 August a 33-year-old Kialla man attended a liquor store on High Street, Shepparton and allegedly became abusive towards staff before threatening them. A report was made to police and on Wednesday 2 September officers executed a search warrant in Kialla and arrested the man. He was charged with threatening to inflict serious injury, and threaten customer facing worker.
- On Monday 24 August a 51-year-old Shepparton woman attended a supermarket on the Goulburn Valley Highway and filled a shopping trolley with groceries worth more than $800, before allegedly fleeing the store after making no attempt to pay. Police executed a search warrant at a Shepparton address the next day, arrested the woman and recovered the majority of the products. She was charged with theft.
Both were bailed to appear in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court at a later date.
According to the latest crime data, retail theft increased by 50% in the year ending March 2026.
Operation Securus was established to not only reduce shoplifting offences across Greater Shepparton, but to catch prolific thieves who use aggression and intimidation tactics in an attempt to get away with their crimes.
Operation Securus will continue, with uniform members having a highly visible presence in the CBD and retail precincts.
Quotes attributable to Goulburn Valley Tasking and Coordination Inspector Anna Parkinson:
“We’ve seen time and time again offenders feeling entitled to take things without paying and then threatening anyone who tries to stop them.
“This is something we simply won’t tolerate, and that’s why our team is taking retail theft in Shepparton so seriously.
“Our main focus is to make employees and shoppers feel safe and to deter more thefts from occurring.
“The success of Operation Securus in such a short time frame is reason to why we will continue targeting the city’s worst shoplifters.”
