Shoplifting On The Rise In Chestermere

Imagine you have had a dream of owning or managing your own retail store. You’ve saved your money, likely gone into a fairly significant amount of debt and have worked night and day to get your location selected, branded your business and advertise. As your opening day approaches, the feelings of nervousness and excitement are so overwhelming that you don’t sleep, don’t eat and you can’t wait to have that first customer come through the door.
Now imagine that feeling the first time you catch someone shoplifting in your store – stealing something that you have worked so hard for and with blatant disrespect, just walk out the door with it.
Julie Rintoul, owner of The General Store, has noticed a significant increase in shoplifting over the last 18 months. The General Store opened its doors in 2007 and was one of the first retailers to open in the Chestermere Station Way retail space. Offering everything from school/office supplies, household items, art/craft supplies and party décor, the General Store is a huge asset to the community.
“When people hear of shoplifting, people always assume that it is the youth and kids, but the biggest increase that I’ve seen is in youth over 16 and adults,” states Rintoul. She goes on to say that for the 10 to 16 year olds, the popular items to steal are jewelry, candy, art and school supplies.
In a more recent situation, two boys came into The General Store and were being completely disrespectful. Rolling around in the isles, messing up products and causing quite the ruckus before they left. After they were gone, the staff checked the isle where these boys had been, finding that they had shoved their fast food cups behind some products and had basically just left a mess. Later on, a concerned mother called the store giving the staff an ear full saying that that they had sold her son an item that was not appropriate for his age. Upon some discussion amongst the staff, it was discovered that this had been one of the boys that was at the store earlier on, made the mess and that he had actually stolen the item. This information was shared with the mother – she said she would bring in her son, but never did.
“When we catch a youth stealing, we will always ask for their parent information and we call the parents. In some cases we have contacted the RCMP. We are really bound by what we can do when dealing with the kids that are stealing”, said Rintoul. If a parent realizes that their child has stolen something, Rintoul says that simply bringing it back and apologizing would be so appreciated.
“It sounds very trivial….someone stealing a $2 or $5 item….but for every $2 item that is taken, we have to sell $8 to make that back. Those minimal items quickly add up”, comments Rintoul.
What is even more alarming is the increase of adults that are shoplifting. “The adults will take everything and anything. Stuffing items in their kids strollers, in their pockets, under dresses and in bags. We have caught them in the act and we always call the RCMP when adults are involved”. Rintoul also commented that the Chestermere RCMP are always amazing to deal with in these situations stating “they are thorough and never make me feel like it’s just an inexpensive item that was taken”.
Rintoul says that aside from costing her money in product, shoplifting forced her to install a security system with cameras, mirrors in the back corners of the store and now has to always ensure there are at least two staff working. “It all adds up”.
With this information coming forward, I spoke with other retail owners in Chestermere to see if they were experiencing the same thing. I contacted six other businesses, that wished to be un-named, that have seen a rise in shoplifting and in most cases, the ages of the culprits have been over 16 in age.
Eric Sinclair, owner of No Frills, says “I wouldn’t say I’ve noticed an increase, there is the usual amount of small theft, like a couple items which. I have had a few times where people go right out the entrance door with full carts and if I get their license plate I recoup that loss, the people I did catch doing that were from Calgary however, 17th Ave. isn’t far away from Chestermere”.
Here are some interesting statistics:
According to the Non-Profit U.S. National Association for Shoplifting Prevention:
One in 11 people is a shoplifter.
There is no profile of a typical shoplifter. Men and women shoplift about equally as often.
Many shoplifters buy and steal merchandise in the same visit.
Approximately 25 percent of shoplifters are kids, 75 percent are adults.
Shoplifters say they are caught an average of only once in every 48 times they steal. They are turned over to the police 50 percent of the time.
Habitual shoplifters steal an average of 1.6 times per week.
Customers steal $14 billion worth of merchandise from North American stores every year.
In 2008, Canada had the highest per capita rate of refund fraud in the world.
Convenience stores have the highest rate of employee theft, furniture stores the lowest.
So, what can be done? Retailers can do their part and from the ones that I spoke with, they have all taken those steps by installing security systems, increase staff and have implemented a variety of staff procedures to watch out for shoplifters.
On the home front, parents and caregivers need to be vigilant on what is coming into your homes. If you notice a new item in your home, ask your child where it came from and don’t just believe the ‘I got it from a friend’ answer.
As for Julie Rintoul, “we at the General Store love our community and the customers that have supported us for all these years. In a community the size of Chestermere, the local business owners survive on the support we receive from the residents. Shoplifting though is something that can end small business”.