Analyzing social sustainable theory of shoplifting and robbery on Karaphange Road.
"I remember the good old days of K' rd."
My earliest memories of Karaphange Road started when I was ten years old when my older sister took me shopping there. I returned to the street in my teenage years, thrifting and exploring the urban landscape. From eighteen onwards, I lived in the CBD or within walking distance. I now reside in a 'chic city fringe' apartment block in Eden Terrace. My sibling's household is in eyeshot on Cross Street, parallel to Karaphange Road.
In late October 2022, I worked for five months at Army and outdoors on Karaphange Road. I knew of the local public intoxication and late-night dealings; however, my recent occupation granted me a new perspective on local crime. Shoplifting is "the illegal act of taking goods from a shop without paying for them" ("shoplifting," n.d.). After five months of retail, I'm very well aware of shoplifting incidents; however, I don't understand the social-cultural context or motivators in depth. This paper dissects the nature of shoplifting on Karaphange Road by exploring the local historical context, my prior experiences, and possible causes. Analysing this data utilising social cohesion theory has produced unexpected implications that reshaped my perception of socially sustainable issues and what a community is.
SOCIAL CONTEXT
Karanghape Road stretches horizontally across the uptown ridge of Tamaki Makaurau CBD. The street combines alternative art, secondhand shopping and unique hospitality dining. Its rich history begins as a critical trading route across the landscape in pre-colonial times. In the 1800s, Pakeha settlements reformed the area, incorporating the ridge into the town's development (Karangahape Road Business Association, n.d.).
The following decades construct the street into a posh shopping destination (Bone, 2014). In contrast, the surrounding area was the setting for low-income housing in Newton Gully (Bone, 2014). In 1955, this gully was overhauled for the new motorway system, evicting 50,000 consumers who had spent their earnings on stores at Karaphange Road. (Bone, 2014). Over the 1960s, the disappearance of the local customer market forced essential producers and high-end retailers to move off the strip. (Bone, 2014).
In their place over the 70s to 90s, new businesses began to dominate the street, changing its perception from high-end to a so-called red light district. Alternative culture, music spaces, art galleries, LGBTQI+ venues, and a small adult entertainment industry began to inhabit the recently vacant cheap spaces (Bone, 2014). In the 1990s, new apartment infrastructures attract fresh residents to support the local economy. From the 2000s till the present, rent in uptown has escalated, in contrast to poor to middle foot traffic, and local businesses struggle to remain afloat (Berlin, 2018). The residents themselves numbered 2,307 people (Stats NZ, 2018). They earn middle to high income but are paying far higher rents than the Auckland average for smaller dwellings (Stats NZ, 2018); likely due to the perks of accessibility to local entertainment, hospitality and workplaces (NielsenIQ, 2023)
Personal Observations
Over the five months, I worked on Karaphange Road, shoplifting was a common occurrence. You would catch some, some you didn't, which we identified by the remains of smashed security tags in the changing rooms. What struck me as different about shoplifting on Karaphange Road was the aggression and blatant attitude of shoplifters' actions when and after committing the crime. My second surprise was the range of shoplifters in age, ethnicity and gender. What also startled me was the variety of value of stolen items, from a 1$ chocolate bar to 8k in alcoholic goods.
While working at Army and Outdoor, three on-site events particularly stood out. The first was when multiple men entered the store, snatched bags from the shelf and began piling items into the backpacks. In their escape, they physically assaulted two of my co-workers. Karaphange security found them soon after selling the goods just off the street. Most of the items were returned, but some were unfound or damaged. The second major incident was a woman who came into the store with a shoplifted product from a shop down the road. The item's security tag alerted our system, and my manager verbally engaged with the woman to return the item. However, she soon became aggressive and aggregated. The scene ended in her ripping our doorway security sensor off its foundation, which resulted in 5000 NZD worth of damage. The final incident was a teenage boy who bolted off with stolen goods after 45 minutes of wandering the store. The boy was pursued and last seen handling the goods over to an older man who was already barred from several local stores for robbery.
CCTV footage captures K'road assault and robbery
Figure 1 emphasises the situation's direness as CCTV footage depicts the violent struggle as a shoplifter punches an Army and Outdoor retail worker.
From Military and outdoor equipment store on K' Road robbed, staff assaulted. by Tan, L, 2022, New Zealand Herald.
Other notable observations of shoplifting and robbery incidents in the past few months include when my sibling, who works at the Audio Foundation, was nearly physically assaulted by a man who tried to rob the gallery. Splendid Photos had their long-standing huge 'sex store' neon street sign stolen overnight. Pico, a high-end restaurant bar, had 8000$ worth of vintage wine stolen from their vault off Myer Park. Finally, based on workplace conversations, Thriftway, Smoove, and convenience stores are the most targeted businesses for shoplifters on Karaphange Road.
Possible causes & contributing factors
Although Karaphange Road shoplifting may initially seem horrendous, this is not an outlier. Financial losses in Aotearoa due to shoplifting and burglary have nearly doubled from 2003 to 2017 (Hutching, 2018). 2022 has taken the sharpest rise in thefts reported over the last two decades, with a growth of 14% compared to the previous year (Shaw, 2023).
My first suspicion for this unsettling growth was the rising national living cost. This assumption plays out as security firms recognise the recent rise of first-time middle-class shoplifters and further pressure on low-income citizens who steal due to financial desperation. (Shaw, 2023). "At the end of the day, they can't afford the bare basics." says Security Ltd director Shane Wijohn (Shaw, 2023).
Consumer prices haven't been this high in 30+ years; this chart also highlights this isn't a steady incline but a sharp spike that leaves many households unprepared. From Consumer Price Index (CPI), by Stats NZ, 2018, CC-by 4.0.
However, there are multiple narratives here. Shoplifting directed at Aotearoa's retail industry is predominantly a result of organised crime actively targeting stores (Shaw, 2020). Although the typical desperate and spontaneous thieves still disrupt retail, organised crime results in further significant financial harm to businesses (Shaw, 2020). For organised criminals, streetwear is the dominant focus, usually more accessible to resale; however, in recent years, gangs have also been targeting higher-priced goods (Shaw, 2020). Online secondhand markets have also unintentionally supported the purchase of stolen goods due to their accessibility and anonymity (Shaw, 2023). The most disheartening aspect is that store owners can do little to seek justice for these crimes as the legal process is lengthy and expensive. (Shaw, 2023).
Relationship to Social Sustainability Framework and Theory
The reasons for shoplifting are previously explained in the causes of shoplifting. The deprivation of essential vital services and opportunities for organised crime in a digital age has led to a significant jump in theft in Aotearoa. An example of this from my observations would be convenience stores as an often targeted location; this is likely due to the lack of access to basic needs with increasing food costs. Based on our findings, we can also assess that targeting high-end goods and mid-end vintage streetwear stores is likely due to the accessibility of resale markets and organised criminal activity.
What is far less straightforward is Karaphange Road's inability to commit long-term action to reduce this continuous disturbance. From this perspective, we realise that shoplifting and robbery are symptoms of a far more significant issue on the strip.
On the surface, Karangahape Road may be a prime example of a remarkable socially sustainable effort to build an area's economic development by producing community identity and transmission (Mckenzie, 2004). However, this narrative has several red flags and contradictions that disrupt progress toward true social cohesion. A key indicator of social sustainability would be equity between generations (Mckenzie, 2004); however, this is disrupted by rapidly increasing gentrification, putting financial pressure on local dwellers of Karaphange Road (Berlin, 2018). Possible future dwellers who fit into the cultural narrative of an alternative, low-income CBD lifestyle that Karaphange Road markets as a selling point can no longer access residence due to the high rental cost (Miller, 2015). Ongoing gentrification widens this residential equity gap as high-end commercial and residential development has rooted itself in the landscape (Berlin, 2018). These developments contrast the past half-century of cheap leases for independent local businesses and residents, which built the local reputation of alternative fringe culture (Bone, 2014). However, from the 2000s onwards, Karaphange businesses reclaimed this image as a marketing strategy for the street as an alternative creative hub (Berlin, 2018). This advertisement has led to high-end investment interest, which increases local property prices and places pressure on long-term Karaphange Road residents (Berlin, 2018). This widening inequity in the area leads to the disruption of community transmission and community responsibility to tackle long-term issues (McKenzie, 2004)
Figure 3: Perceptions of living in Auckland's city centre
The graph above highlights this deficiency of community transmission in the area. It depicts that although 72% of city centre dwellers think the community is important, only 20% felt that there is a sense of community in CBD; From Perceptions of living in Auckland's city centre: 2022 survey of residents, NielsenIQ, 2023, Knowledge Auckland Copyright 2023 NielsenIQ | Auckland Council, New Zealand.
Reflection
I expected the cause of shoplifting to be a complex, systematic national issue. However, my findings were rather mundane, relating to well-discussed universal issues of increasing global inflation and national inequity at the heart of the problem. This answer didn't challenge my line of thinking, and because of this, I feel unchanged on the subject of shoplifting.
However, what changed for me was my opinion of Karangahape Road. From what I have analysed, the nature of shoplifting in Karangahape Road, suffering from blatant, frequent, and aggressive behaviour, occurs due to a loss of generational social transmission and responsibility caused by gentrification in the area. This disturbance has led to difficulty in fulfilling long-term community action against shoplifting. I have felt this gentrification on the street for a long time. I have only started to question if this is right in recent years. Shops and venues on the road where I had meaningful emotional ties have been displaced over the past few months as they struggled to keep their leases. The irony of it is I have contributed to this gentrification. As I type away in my flashy city apartment with penthouses on the top floor and a large communal garden, my building's foundations entrench upon the ghosts of where a once renowned local music venue was bulldozed years prior. Overall, I feel anxious about the future of Karaphange Road. I now realise something far more significant has been stolen than physical commercial items, but rather a true sense of community identity and connectivity.
Conclusion
This paper is about shoplifting and robbery on Karaphange Road. Based on that title, you would assume that the main issue we are discussing is the former: Shoplifting. However, this report reveals that theft is a persistent symptom of a complex dilemma around gentrification and cultural loss on Karaphange Road.
Since its origin as a travelling route, Karaphange Road has always been a transitional space. The street is a torrent, its dweller and foot traffic changing with the flow of time. To sustain economic development on such a vicious terrain requires strong social cohesion. From the 90s onwards, these foundations cemented in the form of a strong sense of community and identity cultivated over the 70s and 80s, which became a selling point for the areas.
Communities that rely on a strong sense of cultural identity and community to build economic development fit the brief for social sustainability. However, in recent years, the design of Karaphange Road has invested too heavily in high-end projects that didn't preserve or consider the longstanding dwellers and businesses that were the catalyst for Karaphange's unique fringe cultural identity. The result is a weakening of the communal framework, leaving the area more susceptible to disruptors of social cohesion. Recently, Aotearoa has seen a chain reaction, where high inequity and rising food costs have incited a sharp growth in opportunistic organised crime and desperate shoplifters. Karaphange Road, a shopping district, is a natural target for these heists. This issue could have been manageable; however, long-term action is stagnant because of fractured community transmission and responsibility caused by gentrification. Now, the strip can do little to oppose this spiralling violence and desperation unless there is a serious change in its socially sustainable landscape.
