The number of thefts in grocery stores in Winnipeg is growing.
The owners of the stores are concerned about the situation very much, and they report that their losses are increasing significantly.
The owner of Winnipeg's Food Fare chain commented on the situation and said that he hoped that he solved the problem with shoplifting some years ago, but he was wrong and at the moment everything is much worse.
He also said that every day he catches up to 5 thieves, and these are the cases that he manages to see. However, in addition to this, there is still a series of thefts.
Munther Zeid noted that the theft is not the only problem that the police and city authorities should pay attention to. As a rule, goods that are stolen, are not used for personal purposes, but for the purpose of reselling on the streets of the city.
The man came to such a conclusion seeing what goods disappear from the shelves in his store most often. Basically, they are razors, blades and some cosmetic items. Together with the owners of other stores, he suggests that this is organized crime. In his opinion, a group of people go to the stores with a list of those goods that are most relevant for resale on the street and steal them.
In addition, meat and cheeses are often stolen, but Munther Zeid thinks that they are not being stolen in order to eat.
Winnipeg police completely agree with the theory of the resale of stolen goods. In the city there are quite a lot of shelters, where any person can get food, he does not need to steal it from any stores if he is hungry.
According to official data, theft has increased by 22% if to compare to the previous year.
The owner of Family Foods even showed the Police those sites where the resale of stolen goods occurs. He personally saw his goods on Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji.
Both owners have huge losses due to thefts and this problem is very actual for them at the moment. As the Police say, thefts in the city become very cruel and at times even innocent people suffer. There are cases when people steal various goods from stores, then exchange them for meth.
The store owners are trying to do their best to stop the number of thefts, to improve security systems and to protect their customers. However, if it is about the security of people, they will not be able to withstand thefts.
The Retail Council of Canada informs that goods costing more than $5 billion are stolen every year from the city stores.
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