‘Panic attacks’ as retail workers forced to deal with surge in shoplifting [video]

On her last day as an employee at NB Liquor in Fredericton’s Northside, Jessica Clark confronted a regular customer after noticing that he was shoplifting. The man quickly became violent.

“He started slamming his fists, yelling at me, and he got in my face,” she said, noting that she had to ban him from the store. “That was the first time I had to deal with a really, really violent person.”

The NB Media Co-op agreed to identify her with a pseudonym because she fears potential legal action from her former employer for speaking out.

Clark said she quit because of anxiety over potential violent confrontations and a perceived lack of care from the employer.

“I just didn’t feel like going to work anymore,” she said. Although she “absolutely adored the job,” working conditions seemed increasingly unsafe amid increasing incidents of theft.

“It was leading to a lot of panic attacks at work where I just wouldn’t feel safe.”

In an email statement, NB Liquor acknowledged the effects of the rise of theft in their organization.

Tanya Greer, a spokesperson for the Crown corporation, said NB Liquor had implemented measures such as de-escalation training, a code of practice for workplace violence, and “security systems.” Safety of workers is a “priority,” the spokesperson said.

However, Clark’s story highlights a larger issue: some retail workers fear for their safety as they are required to deal with increasingly prolific shoplifters, while employers fail to provide a safe work environment.

The phenomenon raises questions about the root causes of shoplifting and how to address the issue without resorting to excessive policing and private security, which are often associated with racial profiling.

The NB Media Co-op spoke to several retail workers who described similar problems dealing with increased shoplifting, but most were unwilling to go on the record.

Clark said that she worked with NB Liquor for more than a year, but it wasn’t until this past summer that theft issues took away her sense of workplace wellbeing.

“Our store was proclaimed as the second most dangerous store in the province other than Saint John,” she said. “It definitely got really bad, and we were at our wits end.”

According to Clark, the store has faced increasing theft from brazen individuals who verbally abuse employees and sometimes become physically violent when confronted. “We were just expected to laugh it off and shrug it off.”

Workers like Clark feel unsafe because companies often rely on their employees to prevent theft. “We were encouraged to follow these people around, which put a lot of pressure on us.”

Jamie Agnew, president of CUPE 963, which represents unionized workers at NB Liquor, said its status as a Crown corporation limits its ability to use security cameras as customer identities must be protected.

“On behalf of the members I’ve asked for security guards because we had them before, but their answer to me is that security guards cost money,” he said.

Greer, the NB Liquor spokesperson, denied this, saying that decisions were based on “best practices, expert advice, and our specific needs, not the cost of options.”

The company didn’t respond to follow-up questions about how security guards are allocated to various stores, protocols for dealing with shoplifters, and other issues.

Agnew, the union president, said he’s been looking for alternatives. Examples include controlled entrances, with staff member asking every customer for a photo ID before coming into the store.

Manitoba Liquor implemented this measure after a surge in theft in 2019, and it has significantly reduced theft in their stores, according to the Crown corporation.

Agnew believes NB Liquor is taking workers’ concerns seriously. “I just don’t think they want to spend the money on the extras that are needed to help with this issue,” he said. “They are basically putting the onus on us.”

Jim Cormier, director of the Atlantic region for the Retail Council of Canada, attributed rising theft to inflation and what he described as the emergence of a resale market due to the popularization of online shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s created a real opportunity for thieves, especially those that are involved in a more organized retail crime,” Cormier said. “They target specific products they know they can resell within minutes.”

The council has lobbied for more law enforcement, like the implementation of police “blitzes,” where a large number of police officers show up in a store to be visible.

Cormier said many retailers are frustrated that shoplifting only qualifies as a felony if the stolen items total $5,000 or more, and that many companies start reporting items stolen by prolific shoplifters once they hit that threshold. Many stores have stopped reporting these incidents altogether, he said.

Calls for more private security, police and harsher sentencing raise other concerns: racialized people often report incidents of racial profiling in stores, and incidents of petty crime and even “wellness checks” have been met with police brutality, leading to calls for funds to be reallocated from police to social services.

Mike Fleming, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of New Brunswick said that root causes of shoplifting may include the cost of living and housing crisis. He also pointed to a lack of suitable resources for people struggling with addiction.

“It shouldn’t be surprising to us that we are ending up with people acting out of this kind of desperation,” he said. He warned about the tendency to address these issues with more law enforcement.

“Our response as a society is to create new laws, new regulations and new ways to further regulate or criminalize marginalized folks,” said Fleming.

Fleming said to achieve meaningful change, the government needs to take more responsibility for social issues and not put the weight of the problem on charities.

“Charities in virtually every sector are overrun,” he said, pointing to overburdened organizations such homeless shelters, food banks, community kitchens, and drug treatment facilities.

“All of these organizations in a city like Fredericton are dealing with unprecedented levels of need and not very much government funding.”

Following pressure from local store owners, the Fredericton Police Force recently announced the creation of a so-called Community Engagement Unit.

The city-funded unit will consist of former police who will handle “non-critical tasks, such as taking statements for minor crimes, handling lost property, and providing general public assistance,” according to the City of Fredericton.

Fleming said this new measure could be helpful if done right, especially when it comes to helping homeless people and those suffering from substance abuse issues.

However, he expressed concern about how much training the new unit will receive when it comes to deescalating mental health crises. Police “wellness checks” have ended with fatalities in several recent cases in New Brunswick, most recently with the death of Steven “Iggy” Dedam of Elsipogtog First Nation.

“We know police services are overwhelmed with calls for social disorder-type concerns and generally speaking, police training in Canada doesn’t do a very good job of preparing police officers for that,” he said.

With the threat of a recession looming over the Canadian economy due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, it remains to be seen whether the social problems giving rise to shoplifting will worsen.

Clark, the former NB Liquor employee, called for more mental health support for retail workers. “Working retail is really hard,” she said.

This report is part of a series titled Documenting Discrimination and Inequality. Katherine Del Salto is a fourth-year international student from Ecuador majoring in journalism and sociology. She is also the managing editor of The Aquinian.

This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS).