Downtown Charlottetown shoplifting at an 'all-time high,' some shop owners say

Ryan McKellop · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 10, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 10

Some businesses successful downtown Charlottetown are expanding information astatine their stores, owed to a surge successful the number of shoplifters.

Charlottetown constabulary show shoplifting reports person astir doubled since 2022. That year, constabulary received 209 complaints astir shoplifting compared to 411 successful 2024.

Blank Canvas Art Supplies moved into its caller determination astatine the Confederation Court Mall since May 1, and already proprietor Beth Arsenault has had to boost her information measures. There are much cameras, arsenic good arsenic salient informing signs astir them. 

"I enactment everything of excavation into this place," she told CBC News. "All my wealth is tied up into this store. I'm not a large company, truthful it's conscionable me.

"For idiosyncratic to beryllium stealing — oregon aggregate radical to beryllium stealing — from us... It makes you consciousness beauteous bad, and benignant of makes you commencement to think, 'Now, who other is stealing?'"

Arsenault said she doesn't privation to dainty customers with suspicion, but she has to support her banal and her investment.

"It's precise disheartening arsenic a tiny concern owner," she said. "You person to truly beryllium watching everyone who comes into the store, and I don't privation to dainty everyone similar that."

Arsenault said adjacent a mates 100 dollars' worthy of inventory is simply a batch to a tiny concern owner. And she said she's not the lone 1 dealing with this issue.

"It's connected a precise regular basis... It's happening each time to people, and it's each from tiny businesses downtown," she said.

Charlottetown's acting constabulary chief, Jennifer McCarron, said officers utilized to beryllium dealing with smaller thefts, similar a candy bar, container of chips, battalion of gum. Now you spot radical walking retired with $1,000 worthy of groceries, she said. 

"[It's] precise important for anyone who deals with shoplifting to fto america know, if they person video to nonstop it to us. At slightest we tin effort to place these radical and get them charged," she said.

"If they're doing it to 1 business, they're astir apt doing it to a fig of businesses and it would beryllium adjuvant to america to get them disconnected the street."

Shoplifting a play occurrence

Nathan Clark is the proprietor and relation of Courtside Sneakers connected Queen Street successful downtown Charlottetown. He has besides had a spate of shoplifting incidents recently.

"I deliberation it's grown rather a spot implicit the past fewer years, but it seems to beryllium astatine an all-time precocious close now. I'd accidental it's a play occurrence we're dealing with something," helium said.

"Prior to the past week, we didn't person a disposable information strategy successful place... We've ever had security, but this is the archetypal clip we've had an progressive provender successful the retail space."

Like Arsenault, Clark said shoplifting losses tin truly add up for a tiny business.

"It's tough. The past fig of years person been difficult, with the system and the authorities it's in, truthful each dollar counts," helium said.

"Somebody mightiness deliberation they're conscionable stealing a $150 brace of pants oregon a sweater oregon a brace of shoes oregon whatever, but you know, astatine the extremity of the year, it adds up. And it tin marque oregon interruption a tiny business." 

'We place them ace fast'

Clark said Courtside precocious began utilizing societal media to place shoplifters.

"I deliberation societal media helps... We usually place them ace fast," helium said.

"The bigger happening for me is — particularly if it's a concern wherever we've mislaid product — it's trying to marque a affirmative retired of a antagonistic situation. When we station that stuff, the enactment is rather high… I'm definite radical find retired astir Courtside that ne'er knew astir it before."

He said helium feels shoplifters are getting much daring.

"I deliberation there's a level of boldness with shoplifting now, that it's truthful casual due to the fact that there's not overmuch repercussions, they tin travel successful and instrumentality thing and locomotion retired and it's not a large deal," helium said.