Portage businesses continue to be targeted by thieves
Thieves in Portage la Prairie are so emboldened and have such little fear of consequences, according to one retail employee, that it is not out of the ordinary to see people simply walk out the door with handfuls of merchandise, while all workers can do is watch them leave.
“Some will walk in, grab a bag, fill it up and go, and I would say in the last three-hour shift that I worked I watched probably $600 go out the door without being paid for,” said a Portage resident who works at a business in the city’s downtown, but did not want to reveal their identity or the business for fear of repercussions from their employer.
“I’m crossing a line here, but I feel like there’s this silence that needs to end and someone needs to talk about what’s really going on.”
What they said is going on is rampant often unchecked theft and, in some cases, the same people coming in and out of the store on multiple occasions, sometimes on the same day, and taking large amounts of merchandise out without paying.
“More and more I see people just being a lot more openly brazen with it, because at this point they feel emboldened,” they said.
The theft at the store where the employee works has gotten so bad that they say the business has been forced to cut down on the merchandise they are bringing in, because they can’t afford it due to how much unpaid merchandise is currently going out.
And current policy at the store, according to the employee, does not allow them to directly accuse anyone of stealing or trying to steal while in the store, even if they shove things into their pockets or leave the store with unpaid items.
“If it’s someone who puts something in their pocket all I can say is ‘oh did you need a bag for that,’ and when they are leaving all you can really do is wish them a good day and then call the police. Sometimes I warn them ‘maybe don’t come back for a while because the cops are on their way.’”
The employee said they appreciate all the work that police including RCMP in this province do, and reiterated they do not blame police, but said the RCMP call times for theft continue to be very slow and most thieves continue to get away with it, and even when they are caught they said they are often released on bail.
Another Portage la Prairie business has been publicly sounding the alarm about theft for months, as in December of last year and again earlier this month, Olina Fashions co-owner and Portage resident Arishya Aggarwal told the Winnipeg Sun the fashion business was dealing with “rampant theft” and said some thefts have been well-planned out, and a single incident could see between $400 and $500 worth of merchandise stolen.
On Wednesday, Aggarwal said although she does not know what is happening in every business in the city, she said what the person who spoke to the Winnipeg Sun anonymously said lines up with what she and other business owners in the city have been dealing with.
“I can only provide insights based on my own experiences with my businesses. We have indeed seen significant cases of theft, which aligns with the general concern about retail theft in the area,” Aggarwal said.
Recently Portage la Prairie council officially rolled out their new Community Safety Officer (CSO) program, and paid CSOs are now patrolling streets looking to combat crime and bring a sense of security, as part of a program that allows municipalities to hire CSOs who are trained by the provincial government, and act as what some refer to as a second tier of policing.
Both Aggarwal and the employee who spoke anonymously said they appreciate efforts by the city to combat the problem, but both said they don’t have much optimism that the program will slow theft in Portage la Prairie.
“The real issue in Portage la Prairie is not a lack of community presence,” Aggarwal said. “The root cause of crime is the justice system’s failure to hold criminals accountable. The CSO initiative is just a Band-Aid that won’t solve the problem.”
RCMP have not replied to the Winnipeg Sun's request for comment.
Dave Baxter, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun
