‘We do everything we can’: Maritime retail stores frustrated with theft, assaults

Many Maritime businesses are seeking help with ongoing retail crime.

Even with nearly a dozen cameras, no-bags-in-the-store policies and other measures, the Consign Boutique on Saint John’s east side still deals with people trying to steal from their store.

“I’ve been spit, I’ve been told off and I’ve been sworn at,” says owner Lori Wheeler. “It’s not like we say, ‘Oh, come on in and we’ll turn our backs as you go and steal something from our store.’ We do everything we can to prevent theft in our store.”

Wheeler is not alone in dealing with thefts on a regular basis. Across Canada, retailers are dealing with a rise in incidents, including theft and both physical and verbal assaults.

It’s prompted Retail Council of Canada Atlantic director Jim Cormier to make a trip to New Brunswick to push for more action against the issue. On Tuesday he met with Saint John Police Force Chief Robert Bruce, who is also the president of the New Brunswick Association of Chiefs of Police. On Wednesday he travelled to Fredericton for a meeting with Public Safety Minister Robert Gauvin.

“One of the things we’d like to see is more beat cops,” says Cormier. “We really think it’s worthwhile that if you have a more visual deterrent with police officers walking the beat, it at least makes it a little bit more difficult for those that are seemingly stealing with impunity.”

According to Cormier, there are two types of criminals retail stores are dealing with these days: people stealing out of desperation and organized retail criminals who target items that can easily be resold.

“Everybody became very comfortable with online marketplaces, buying and selling, in those domains,” Cormier says. “Nothing wrong with those, but the point is that organized retail criminals have found that those are really great spots where you can steal a product at 9 a.m. and by 10 a.m. on the other side of town you’re reselling it.”

He says ultimately the Retail Council would love to see all levels of government step up with more funding to hire more police officers. He also points out how change is needed in the overall justice system that will keep repeat offenders more accountable as opposed to the “catch and release” model.

Saint John Staff Sgt. Shawna Fowler says property crime in Saint John is actually down 24 per cent when compared to this time last year. A reason behind that could be the implementation of more foot patrols in the uptown and Waterloo Village areas of Saint John.

If retailers continue to report incidents in other parts of the city, that initiative could be expanded.

“It is important for retailers to report to us so that we can determine statistics, trends or have data to support where we need more presence or boots on the ground,” says Fowler.

But for Wheeler there is feeling of helplessness, which she says hits even harder at her shop as she is selling items on behalf of other people.

“When you steal from here, you’re stealing from your community members,” she says. “You’re not just stealing from a big box store that they’re going, you know, that’s no big deal to them. It’s a big deal to us.”

She says social media has become a powerful tool for small businesses like hers as an avenue to shame people from stealing. A post made on Tuesday condemning theft has already garnered 40,000 views in less than 24 hours.

“It’s a grasp at anything that we can do to help protect what it’s in our stores and to stop theft.”