Winnipeg police changing anti-theft tactics as retailers warn shoplifters turning more violent
Shoplifters 'more brazen as of late, and they don't hesitate to tell you that they are … armed': store owner
Winnipeg store owners say shoplifters have become far more brazen, as police are trying to change up the tactics they're using to crack down on the problem.
Late last year, police arrested hundreds of shoplifters through a new initiative targeting retail theft hot spots in the city. Insp. Jennifer McKinnon, with the Winnipeg Police Service's major crimes unit, said police used "covert tactics" to make those arrests during blitzes, but shoplifters quickly realized what was going on.
"Word gets out and they start realizing what those covert tactics are, and they change and they adapt and they learn and they continue on," she said. "So as a police agency, we have to do the same."
McKinnon said that starting this spring break, the police service instead began putting out a "visible presence" near the stores as a deterrent.
"We listen to the community and understand the frustration not only for the people that are attending stores to make their own purchases, but for the people who work in these stores," she said.
"They're very fearful, they're frustrated … and the safety of their employees is actually paramount when it comes to this issue."
The Retail Council of Canada, one of the partners in the anti-theft initiative, said members have recently reported they've seen a recent three-fold increase in the number of harassment and violent incidents. It's estimated only about 30 per cent of incidents in the province get reported, the council said.
The Retail Council estimates about $200 million worth of goods are stolen in Manitoba each year.
The area around Kildonan Crossing was one of the spots police originally targeted with their initiative.
Nicole Chartrand is the assistant manager of the Dene Cree Designs gift shop at nearby Kildonan Place mall. She said she's noticed there have been more incidents in the last couple of months compared to previous years, even in what she said is a pretty quiet area in the mall.
"Bigger stores are, like, more of a problem … like Shoppers Drug Mart," she said.
"You see, like, lots of like security around it. Police are going there quite often. I've definitely seen people [with] weapons on them and stuff."
Retailer asking shoppers for IDs
Rob Gardner, owner of Winnipeg Outfitters, said incidents have become so violent that the store now asks customers to show ID before they enter the discount outlet on McPhillips Street, just north of Notre Dame Avenue.
"The shoplifters have become more brazen as of late, and they don't hesitate to tell you that they are … armed and will use force to leave the building with the product that they're trying to steal," Gardner said.
"There were several times where we would attempt to stop them on the way out and … threats occur," he said.
"Police have been here on numerous occasions."
The store has installed a panic button, Gardner said, and has had the ID policy in place for a couple of months now. The store isn't profiling, he said, but wants police to have information if there is an incident.
Gardner said small retailers like his store can't afford to hire security, and insurance is of "absolutely no use" to small retailers when it comes to shoplifting.
In Wolseley, the Barchet's Grocery corner store has locked its doors and installed a buzzer after several incidents involving the same shoplifters.
"It looks like it's better being a criminal than being an honest and appreciated taxpayer," owner Monissh Kapoor said. "They know that the police do nothing about this, and then they have the guts to do it again and again."
Kapoor said that in the two years he's been in the neighbourhood, there haven't been any major incidents yet, but he's concerned about what's happening in bigger stores nearby.
Last week, three Foodfare employees ended up in hospital after they were attacked inside the grocer's Portage Avenue location, according to Winnipeg police. A 17-year-old was charged after he allegedly used brass knuckles to hit the employees. Police said they were also looking for other suspects.
The Foodfare has been under scrutiny recently for how it handles suspected shoplifters, after reports a woman was accused of shoplifting and assaulted by staff in late April, but police won't say if the recent assault was connected in any way with previous ones.
Barchet's Grocery's Kapoor said it's concerning to see how "people become aggressive" in bigger stores.
"You have no control over [shoplifting]. You're not supposed to get yourself involved in the issue. But then how long will this happen? How long will it go?"
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With files from Faith Fundal and Jim Agapito