Vancouver store owner says shoplifting is way up downtown. Police say they haven’t noticed

A Vancouver store owner is growing frustrated with what he calls a rampant wave of shoplifting at his downtown business — a trend police say is not on their radar.

David Sullivan, who owns the IGA grocery store at Robson and Richards streets, says his staff catch four to eight shoplifters per day, and many of the thieves are growing increasingly violent.

“We’ve caught people from every walk of life,” Sullivan said Thursday. “People in suits, people wearing wearing really nice clothes.

“I’m not sure why people feel that it’s OK to steal, because in this case we’re not a large corporation. This is a small family business.”

Even with dozens of cameras mounted to cover every corner of the store, Sullivan says the shoplifters simply don’t care.

“Especially the drug-addicted people — they don’t care about anything, to be honest,” he said.

Sullivan has shared surveillance video of one of the thefts, which happened on Sunday.

In the video, the suspect attempts to steal chocolate eggs. When staff gently try to intervene, the man throws a punch at a female employee.

The suspect ended up striking the store’s loss prevention officer, who Sullivan says has been told not to fight back if thieves become violent over fears they may be armed.

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When staff called 911 to report the incident, Sullivan says Vancouver police told them someone would come by the store on Tuesday.

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But the owner says he doesn’t blame police for the shoplifting scourge.

“I don’t think it’s policing issue, because police care,” he said. “When they do attend, or when you talk to police officers, they wish they could do something to stop it, and I believe they are sincere.”

Sullivan instead blames the court system that puts repeat offenders back on the street. He described one person who was arrested at his store in the morning, but later returned that same night.

Vancouver police spokesperson Const. Tania Visintin said she understands Sullivan’s concerns about the “frustrating scenario” he described.

“Vancouver police haven’t noticed an increase in thefts downtown,” she said. “We do encourage anyone, whether it’s a store owner or someone in that store at the time witnessing a theft to contact police immediately.”

But Sullivan says many merchants in the downtown area aren’t doing that, only reporting thefts when they’re significant or become violent.

“If someone steals $20 worth of product, when the police come — if they come at all — they talk to the guy and then release them,” he said.

“Again, I’m not blaming the police. But if we knew that these people would be arrested and dealt with in a significant way, then that person probably wouldn’t be coming back to steal from my store again.”

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Charles Gauthier, president and CEO of the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, says violent shoplifters are a problem across the Metro Vancouver region.

“We brought this matter up to the attorney general a little over two years ago, and we’ll continue to raise this as a concern that our members are sharing with us,” he said.

Sullivan says he’s hopeful a solution can be found to further deter shoplifting. He estimates his losses to petty theft at around $2,000 per month.

“There is no insurance to protect you from this type of loss,” he said. “The money we lose comes out of the pockets of myself, my family and my employees.

“Everyone is affected by this.”

—With files from Jordan Armstrong