‘This is not a victimless crime’: Shoplifting a growing problem

Shoplifting is a growing problem across in Canada, including here in Halifax.

“We have ten year stats showing that from 2010 to 2019 the incidents of shoplifting across the country have jumped 39 per cent,” said Jim Cormier, Atlantic director of the Retail Council of Canada. “And of course since the pandemic, it's gone up even higher.”

Cormier told CityNews Halifax, with the cost of everything going up, household budgets are stretched and people are becoming increasingly desperate, but a lot of these shoplifters aren't taking essential items for their families.

“We're talking about people coming in, a smash and grab, and coming out with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise,” he stated.

“It's one thing if you're stealing certain products because you need to do that to feed yourself. We're not saying that's acceptable, but at least when you look at that, that's a different category compared to people coming in and stealing thousands of dollars of electronics merchandise or clothing. These are different levels of crime.”

Cormier said employees can feel obligated to try and stop thieves, often at risk to their own safety.

“This is not a victimless crime,” he said. “These are retail workers in here that are often being traumatized by some of the violent acts that are happening.”

“When [people] think of retail, they often think of the big multinational retailers … but they have workers that work there, hoping to do their job and go home safely at the end of the night,” he added. 

Some retailers are investing in measures to make a grab-and-go more difficult, including adding extra security and putting up barriers.

And buzzer systems have even been popping up throughout Halifax, where a customer needs to ring a bell to gain entry to a store.

The executive director of the Spring Garden Area Business Association said business owners feel it helps protect both their employees and their merchandise.

“A merchant stated it's more comforting because you can control how many people are in your store at a time, and how many you can monitor,” Sue Uteck stated.

Uteck added, with rising rents, wages, taxes, power rates and labour shortages, many businesses are just struggling to survive, and losing product to shoplifters could push them to a breaking point.

“These are a lot of bombs being thrown at individual businesses that will have to be making tough decisions,” she said.