A female shopper has accused Coles staff of doing nothing to stop two young ‘thugs’ knocking products off shelves and shoplifting.
In an angry letter to The Beast magazine, Grace from Bronte wrote of the recent incident at Coles Bondi Junction in Sydney’s east.
Grace was shopping in the supermarket and noticed two teenage boys aged between 13 and 15.
‘They were displaying what I’d call inappropriate behaviour, deliberately knocking products off shelves onto the floor, carrying products under their hoodies etc.’
Grace wrote that while she was using the self-serve checkout, she saw the boys approach the exit, and Coles staff called out to them to stop.
‘The two boys kept walking.
‘I said to one of the employees, “You’ll want to stop them, I guarantee they’ve stolen something”.’
Grace claimed the female Coles employee responded: ‘We can’t, we are not allowed to stop them or ask them to pay for what they have, they’re minors.’
The employee also told her she was frightened of the boys.
A female shopper has accused Coles staff of not stopping two young ‘untouchable’ ‘thugs’ knocking products off the shelves and shoplifting at Coles Bondi Junction (stock image)
The shopper asked staff to stop the boys as she believed they had shoplifted. She was told they couldn’t act as the boys are minors. Coles Bondi Junction is pictured
Grace asked why the security guards could not stop them leaving the store.
The employee told her they can’t do anything.
‘So we all stood and watched while these two mini crims walked out, without a backward glance,’ Grace wrote.
She wrote the employee told her the two boys were well known to the staff and often frequent the store as part of a larger gang.
Expressing her exasperation, Grace wrote, ‘And why wouldn’t they? Free stuff, every time. Untouchable!’
The angry shopper wrote if she was a minor she would deliberately steal large items ‘just to prove a point’ (stock image)
She added: ‘If I was a minor, I’d do it. I’d go to Coles every day and steal stuff, just to to prove the point, to illustrate the utter ineffectuality, powerlessness and futility of our figures of authority.’
‘I’d steal the huge bags of dog food, ironing boards, brooms and mops, stuff so big it cannot be ignored, and, just maybe, they’d have to address it.’
Grace concluded her letter by writing, ‘There’s nothing to gain from this rant.’
‘I guess I’d just like some answers from those who decided it’s a good idea to encourage our young thugs to grow up to be adult thugs due to a lack of consequences and accountability.’
A Coles spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: ‘The safety of our team members and customers is our top priority, and we never want our team to put themselves at risk of violence.’
‘We have a range of security and safety measures in place to reduce theft from our stores including smart security gates, electronic article surveillance (EAS), personal duress devices, security personnel and surveillance technologies such as CCTV, we also work closely with police to report these matters.’
Daily Mail Australia contacted NSW Police for comment.
