She looks intently at prices, sizes, even draping a top over her and posing in the mirror to check for fit.

In fact, she looks like most other customers that come into the store.

But she’s not.

She’s a shoplifter, and her every move is being captured by the unblinking eye of CCTV.

Like a magician performing a card trick, she flicks a garment into her bag with lightning speed and breezes out of the store.

Later, the business owner reviews the footage and spots the theft, passing the information onto police.

Even with irrefutable video evidence, a conviction is unlikely.

Such is the “justice” our business owners are subjected to.

Shoplifters are so commonplace, police simply don’t have the resources to convict each one, even when they have them “bang to rights”.

In the June quarter of this year, police laid 355 shoplifting charges on people in Wagga – about four a day on average.

But that’s merely the tip of an iceberg. Many more thefts go unreported.

Most retailers just couldn’t be bothered, knowing the courts are too impotent to make it worthwhile.

Underage offenders are often given a cushy sentence and the crime treated like little more than a minor misdemeanour.

It simply isn't good enough and there needs to be a coordinated approach from police, businesses and the courts to stamp out these underage gangs and let them know this isn't a game. 

No business is immune to shoplifting and the culprits are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Businesses are becoming every bit as sophisticated, dreaming up new strategies to stay ahead of the game.

CCTV cameras are now almost as common as cash registers in local shops. Some store owners have even banded together and developed a coded warning system, where they alert each other to the presence of a shoplifter in the area.

Shoplifting impacts on shoppers too, who are forced to pay higher prices for items so retailers can recoup losses.

Until authorities treat shoplifting with the seriousness it warrants, it will only get worse.