In the past few weeks, it has been clear that shoplifters no longer try to hide.
Two men who grabbed liquor from Cactus Liquor made no attempt to conceal themselves.
Their stupidity was compounded by the fact three of four bottles they snatched were non-alcoholic.
Three teenagers who "shopped" in Tikipunga Food Mart tried to hide from security cameras by wearing hoodies.
They made no attempt to conceal their theft from staff. They grabbed shopping baskets, filled them and left.
Theft is not as serious as robbery, so the penalty is less.
Business owners say shoplifters are taunting them because a) police don't come and b) the penalties are not a deterrent.
In 2010, a young vandal was killed.
His death was the act of an individual. There was also a growing tension in many communities at the time around graffiti.
Fast clean-up of graffiti, penalties and encouraging young people to gain a sense of identity have all helped bring graffiti down.
If a young person with identity issues feels compelled to make their mark by "tagging", what is it that compels a young person to help themselves to someone else's property.
With that as a starting point, and I don't know what it is, by the way, then along with deterrents, we are on the way to reducing shoplifting.
But as we learned with graffiti, it won't happen with deterrents alone.
