A cafe owner has noticed a worrying relationship between the cost of living and crime, especially in Australian cities.
Cafe owner in HobartYaz Spung, warned that rising crime outbreaks are “the kind of things you have to deal with on a daily basis” as Australians face more challenges than ever.
He shared a video on TikTok showing a screaming man being arrested next to his coffee shop, where he asked a simple question: “When does the fun part of the business start again?”
“Side effects of unequal wealth distribution and investors wanting to buy their 10th property,” said a fellow businessman.
Yaz, who has operated for 11 years, said he “could probably count the number of incidents on his hand” before last year.
Cafes are seeing a rise in theft of tip jars and dinners and courtships in the cost of living crisis.
But in the last six months there has been an alarming increase and people agree that “Australia has changed dramatically”.
The arrest in the video occurred a week ago and similar incidents, such as a ‘screaming match’ between a thief and a store owner, a fist fight and more robberies, all occurred within a short time of each other.
Stealing from the tip jar and diners skipping checks are other cost-of-living-induced crimes that are a harsh reality for those who run coffee shops.
People have noticed an increase in crime in both cities and suburbs.
“You have to be very brave to operate in the city, especially in Hobart,” Yaz said.
She’s not the only cafe owner having a hard time, as inflation-induced desperation causes spikes in crime in Australia.
Marie David, owner of Lola’s Coffee Bar in Brisbane, shared “heartbreaking” images of thieves breaking into her cafe in late 2023, looting the business and causing thousands of damage.
She had only operated the cafe for four months before the raid occurred, leaving the business’s new owner “scared and disheartened.”
Rising inflation also coincides with a housing and rental crisis in which record numbers of former renters are sleeping in cars and camping in tents after failing to secure more permanent housing.
A tent city that has sprung up in Brisbane is not far from Lola’s Coffee Bar and is grim evidence of the struggle and bitter despair some Australians face in the face of rising inflation.