Store thefts rising in St. Thomas [Video]

The St. Thomas Police Service is issuing a warning to local retailers as police deal with a rapid rise in shoplifting cases over the last couple of years.

It’s no surprise to staff at Purely Wicked, a novelty shop on Talbot Street. They say they often don’t realize they’ve been a victim of shoplifting until it’s too late.

“A lot of small items go missing,” said long time staff member Jennifer Childs. “Our crystal table is where we notice a lot of sticky fingers. We will only find out some item is missing when we only have one of them, and someone has ordered it online, we come out to try and find it for someone’s order, and it’s gone. You know, it costs us money,” she said.

St. Thomas police say it experienced a 23 per cent increase in shoplifting calls in 2023 over 2022.

In an email to …