Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - In 2020, Campbell River stores reported 275 cases of shoplifting to the RCMP. That is in a city, what is the shoplifting situation like in more settings like Cortes Island.
Cst. Maurey Tyre said those 275 cases in Campbell River are a major problem, “For staggering statistics, some quick online research points to shoplifters only getting caught 1 out of every 48 times they steal. That would mean over 13,000 instances of shoplifting would have occurred in Campbell River last year, putting losses easily into the millions of dollars for local businesses.”
A U.S. study estimated that the average American pays an extra $423 every year because of the resulting price increases.
Tyre explained, “The losses these businesses face are then made up by the rest of the consumers who shop in the stores by paying price increases and sometimes in the case of a small struggling business it can be more than they can manage as losses mount and shoplifters can put them out of business.”
He added, “There are of course all sorts of social ills that lead to the thefts, not the least of which is an increasing addiction problem as drugs become more toxic and addictive.”
This report comes from Campbell River, a city of more than 35,000 people.
What is the situation like on Cortes Island: where the population is a little more than a thousand, most residents at least recognize their neighbours, and the only police are stationed on another island?
Bill Dougan, Manager of the Gorge Harbour Marina and General Store, emailed, “Yes, there has been shoplifting in the past. Each time they occurred it was either through an addiction (stealing booze) or hunger, that caused them to steal. These are the ones who are caught and we have not caught many, less than a handful in 10 years.”
Curt Cunningham, from the Squirrel Cove General Store, added, “I believe that we have a very strong supportive community and shoplifting is at a minimum.”
