Often fuelled by a glut of cheap street drugs, the root causes of shoplifting in P.E.I. are shifting from struggles with poverty to the desperation associated with addiction.
“Jack”, not his real name, was a loss prevention officer for 15 years on the Island. When he started, Jack caught a lot of people of all ages stealing small items, mostly for themselves for personal use, and usually under $50 in value.
Around 2008, he says, he started to see a new kind of shoplifting. He was catching more people stealing items to re-sell to support an addiction.
The new type of thief also changed the nature of the work and exposed him to more violence and retaliation.
“More drug-related thefts, the more they’d come and find you; take it personally,” Jack said, describing how the culprits would seek out and threaten those who would catch and see them prosecuted. He’s had his car vandalized many times; some shoplifters even followed him to his home. And the apprehensions at the stores became more aggressive.
“I wouldn’t want to be loss prevention now.”
By 2012, he’d had enough and changed careers.
“People do crazy things when they’re desperate for stuff. I got in a lot of tussles back in the day, but it’s different now. It’s a lot more violent, a lot more desperate.”
One major retailer in Summerside said they had one loss-prevention officer on site, occasionally. Another store couldn’t answer without permission from head office.
An employee at one of the large stores said they see people walk out with large items sometimes as large as TVs on a regular basis. Another box store employee said he’s seen an increase in shoplifting just in the last year or two.
“A lot of razors,” he notes.
All the employees, fearing the same type of threats experienced by Jack, refused to provide their names on the record.
“We don’t want to see these people over and over. We’d much rather see them get their lives on track.”
-Sgt. Jason Blacquiere
'Prominent role'
Summerside Police Services Sgt. Jason Blacquiere confirms “drugs play a prominent role” in crimes like shoplifting, break-ins, and theft from vehicles.
Poverty and mental health, he says, also remain serious problems that contribute to stealing.
Only a tiny fraction of shoplifting offences are committed by people stealing food to get by.
Around 15 years ago, speed and methamphetamines came to the Summerside-area drug market. They’re made cheaply in a lab, are generally distributed by organized crime networks and have become prevalent here, says Blacquiere.
Addicts will steal an expensive item and trade it for drugs worth just a fraction of the of the item’s value.
“Some frequent flyers are bold,” says Blacquiere, referring to often-caught culprits. “They steal the big-ticket items and hope no one stops them.”
Many stores don’t want their employees in harm’s way, so police end up relying on surveillance video footage to identify the culprits.
Police become familiar with the “repeat customers.” Blacquiere says when officers pick them up for shoplifting, they chat about getting help, “over and over.”
“It takes a lot for them to seek help,” he says. “Some suffer for years before they seek help. It takes a while.”
There are addictions supports at the Prince County Hospital as well as with community groups like Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous, says Blacquiere. There are also SMART meetings, an alternative to traditional 12-step meetings, in Summerside,
“We don’t want to see these people over and over. We’d much rather see them get their lives on track.”
