Shoplifting is on the rise in Fort St John, with RCMP reporting three more cases in June than in May, bringing the monthly total to 20, and businesses aren’t taking it, implementing measures to protect their goods.
According to the report presented by the RCMP to the City of Fort St John, the city saw shoplifting increase from 17 in May, while other property crimes had similar or slightly lower case counts.
At the council’s meeting earlier this month, on July 14, two officers from the local detachment presented the crime statistics from 2024 to the council. Tiffany Hetenyi, the executive director of the Fort St John and District Chamber of Commerce, said she noticed an uptick in mentions at the chamber about midway through that summer.
Hetenyi said some stores have re-routed their aisles so customers must pass employees on their way, whiile one local grocery store has hired security, though, these efforts don’t always deter ne’er-do-wells.
“It’s putting whatever systems you can, like the rearrange was a good move because that does detract some people because they have to go past the staff, but some are still brave enough to go past the staff or are better at hiding it,” she said.
Items of any value are at risk of being snatched and employees absolutely should not purse shoplifters themselves, instead, the shop should report the incident to the local RCMP.
“It’s increasing a lot of costs like (for) some of the stores it’s larger items that are being stolen, sometimes it’s just the small things that people can get away with,” Hetenyi said.
Depending on the cost of what is stolen, store owners may be able to claim some of the value back through their commercial insurance.
Moving forward, Hetenyi said the chamber will continue to support local shop owners by offering advice on her business walks, as well as continuing to work alongside the city in finding a solution.
