Sask. police crack down on shoplifting amid provincewide rise in retail crime

Nancy Broten was mailing some packages at a Shoppers Drug Mart in Saskatoon's Buena Vista neighbourhood when a masked man entered the store with a knife, demanding the clerk open the till.

“I was just very frightened. My heart is racing just describing it because it's just very, like 'Is this really happening?'” she said on the CBC podcast This is Saskatchewan.

Customers and staff came forward to surround the armed man, who grabbed some electronics and ran out the door. Police say he robbed another business minutes later. Officers arrested a 27-year-old man a few blocks away.

Retail theft is on the rise across Saskatchewan and police say it’s getting more violent. They say shoplifting is also rising at grocery stores, pharmacies, hardware stores and other shops. They want to crack down on both violent robberies and simple thefts.

“We receive on average six reports of shoplifting or theft under $5,000 a day,” Regina police Insp. Sean Fenwick said.

People enter stores and leave with goods — sometimes small things, sometimes entire carts of products — without a word, police say. Many return for more. Some are acting alone and others are part of coordinated theft groups, investigators say.

As people shop for the holidays, Saskatoon police are in the middle of one of their quarterly retail crime blitzes: a short, intensive operation designed to arrest offenders and stop retail theft.

“We'll see new Canadians, we'll see people struggling with addictions, we'll see professionals, we see youth, adults. It does vary, but there's certain trends that are interesting,” said Saskatoon police Sgt. Erica Weber, a restorative justice coordinator.

“We have people who are just hungry who are stealing, but we also see it connected to organized crime and fencing operations,” she said.

The organized rings send out shopping lists to thieves who are paid to steal the items, which are then sold through online marketplaces and pawn shops, Weber said.

“I had an individual share with us the other day. He was in the height of his addiction when he got caught shoplifting in one of our blitzes, and he said, ‘I saw the police. They were there. They were overt. They were there. I knew, but I was desperate.'"

LISTEN | Inside Saskatoon’s shoplifting crackdown :

Weber said the man admitted he was stealing groceries for a list of customers who have good jobs but don’t want to pay full price for groceries.

She said some of the rise in the retail crime numbers reflects better reporting from stores — like those that hire loss-prevention staff — but she believes thefts and violence have increased.

“I think it really varies of the 'why' behind what's happening, but we do know what's on the rise, and it's happening not just in Saskatoon, but across Canada,” she said.

During the last blitz, police arrested more than 50 people over four days and laid dozens of charges ranging from theft under $5,000 to outstanding warrants for other crimes. Weber said many of the people arrested were already prohibited from being inside those stores.

“Some individuals are being charged 20, 30 times a year,” she said. “Sometimes they’re stealing twice a day.”

She said these blitzes are about intervention as well as enforcement.

Weber meets with many of the people brought in during the blitzes. Behind each file is a different story: a parent who couldn’t afford groceries, a worker who recently lost housing, someone in early recovery who relapsed and stole to fund their addiction, she said.

“We sit with them and talk through what supports they need. Do they know where to go for food? Do they have income coming in? Do they qualify for assistance? Sometimes the shame of asking for help is what keeps people from accessing resources.”

Businesses feel the impact

Some retailers keep their doors locked during the day. Others have hired more staff, moved high-value items behind counters, or added cameras.

Some big chains like Loblaws have introduced body-worn cameras for staff, which have reduced confrontations, Weber said.

“As soon as someone knows they’re being recorded, the level of aggression tends to drop,” she said. “We’re also seeing a lot more abandoned carts of merchandise when a body-worn camera is activated.”

The Retail Council of Canada estimates retail theft now costs Canadian businesses roughly $9 billion a year — nearly double the losses reported in 2018.

As for Broten, the robbery she witnessed was frightening — but in the following days, she found herself thinking about more than just the knife and the fear, she said.

“This guy was desperate for whatever reason. It's really cold and people don't have a place to live or eat … Maybe you are just looking for a warm place to sleep.”

She said the incident has changed how she thinks about what’s happening in her own city.

Police say retail theft appears to be levelling off after the blitzes, but the pressures behind it remain. As holiday shopping picks up, they’ll be watching.